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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139897">The Full Moon Killer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deukaenology/pseuds/Deukaenology'>Deukaenology</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Drama, F/F, Murder Mystery, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Suspense, Thriller, alternative universe, fluff if you squint, graphic depiction of character death, how can I add tags without spoiling things?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>119,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deukaenology/pseuds/Deukaenology</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At the place of roof-jumpers.</p><p>It all started from one not-so-peculiar suicide.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Siyeon, Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon, Kim Taeyeon/Kwon Yuri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>187</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. "Who the hell was she?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Well, hi again, I'm back with a brand new hole LOL. I just need to write it down when the iron is still hot, and I hope that I could bring you joy as much as I had while thinking and writing about it. Please excuse my vocabulary and grammar mistakes, read the tags carefully, seat back, and enjoy :"&gt;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a beautiful day, with sunshine, cloudless, and clear blue sky. Exact the type of weather would encourage HanDong to get out of the car, although the comfort temperature set inside the car, to emerge herself in the air of a rarely wonderful spring day.</p><p> </p><p>But anyway. Inside the car wasn’t so bad, and her father was playing some Korean songs from his radio, which surprisingly suited her music taste.</p><p> </p><p>Everything was perfect.</p><p> </p><p>If only she didn’t have to go to school today.</p><p> </p><p>A Korean Elite High School, to be exact.</p><p> </p><p>HanDong was, not that she exaggerated, a natural survivor. She could quickly adapt to whatever happened around. Her first impression of Korea after moving here was pretty neutral. The language was hard, of course, extremely difficult even, if she had to admit, but other than that, the culture, although affected quite heavily by the Western one, was pretty much similar to her hometown in Wuhan. Work ethics. Family hierarchy. The way people talked. The way people walked. The way people hung out after work. The way they smiled, but they didn’t mean it. The stress. The pressure.</p><p> </p><p>The way people survived.</p><p> </p><p>Two weeks after her flight landed, and she was able to notice. Pretty similar. It was gonna be easy to blend in. Or at least, that was what she’d thought before standing in front of this building.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t the first time she had been here. Last week, she and her parents had come to complete some of her school transfer forms and paperwork, and an assigned student had showed them the way around her new school. Not a detailed tour, but enough to form an impression.</p><p> </p><p>So, today was her second time. Standing here. In awe.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, she still shuddered. Secretly, of course. But she knew it was there, in her spine, in her vein.</p><p> </p><p>The building was well designed. Brick-built, steady, well insulated to stand against the rough winter in South Korea. Western style, a smaller version of a castle in any toddler dreams and fairies. A little too showy for a high school, which was acceptable considering how much money her parents had to paid for her tuition fee per semester.</p><p> </p><p>But it was cold in grey color. Its steadiness gave out a, what was the word? Cramped? Confined? She wasn’t sure, but whatever. Sunlight couldn’t give it warmth. A clear blue sky couldn’t light it up.</p><p> </p><p>Something seemed off, and she couldn’t help but wondering why.</p><p> </p><p>“Is everything ok, darling?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong was pulled back to reality. It seemed like her mind had been wandering around way too long, enough for her mother to notice her hesitation. She turned around, only to face her parents’ worries and concerns, even though they were well hidden. So HanDong lips just automatically curled, painting out an assuring smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Everything was great, mama.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure, honey?”</p><p> </p><p>Her mother sounded uncertain. She knew her father must have the same feeling. They didn’t really want her to leave her friends behind because of their work. Moving to a new country, no matter how similar it was to their child’s hometown, was a challenge not every kid at her age might be able to confront. But they couldn’t leave her, their one and only daughter behind. They’d asked for her opinion. And although she had decided to move along with them on her own, they kept apologizing for obliging her to leave her old life in Wuhan behind.</p><p> </p><p>Which wasn’t necessary. To be honest, she didn’t mind. Moving was a problem, yes, but not too big to be concerned about.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure.” HanDong re-confirmed, kicked her shudder to the back of her head before giggling. “Ok, just a little nervous, maybe…”</p><p> </p><p>Her mother’s features loosened up a little bit. “Yeah, I figured. Couldn’t forget how nervous I was in my first day at High School…”</p><p> </p><p>“Just do your best, little apple.” Her father gave her a smile, a genuine one, but somehow it felt… sad. “Be yourself. And tell us if thing’s gone wrong, will you? We’ll be here for you.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong returned his smile, and nodded with warmth swirling in her chest. Sometimes she even wondered if her father was really born and raised in China. He was different, in a good way, from other men she had met. He cared, and showed that he cared. So was his support. Sometimes, he might not understand her feelings and stuffs, but at least, he was trying, and she knew it.</p><p> </p><p>That was more than enough.</p><p> </p><p>Being a husband and a father wasn’t easy. Being a decent man wasn’t, either. And being different definitely didn’t make the expectations on his shoulders less harsh, and she admired her father for acing it excellently.</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t mean she would tell him everything, though. And he didn’t need to know that she wouldn’t, either.</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck, sweetheart.” Encouragingly, her mother waved her hand for a goodbye. “You’re sure you don’t want us to pick you up after school?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong threw a glance around her before firmly nodding her head. Her father’s car wasn’t the most expensive one. She wouldn’t stand out. Most of the kids going to this school were being picked up all the time anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Just to get a hang of this city, you know.” She shrugged, and explained. “What’s a better way to explore than trying to be a local?”</p><p> </p><p>“Right.” Her mother suppressed a sigh. “Text me when you get on the bus then.”</p><p> </p><p>“I will.”</p><p> </p><p>“And have a good day.”</p><p> </p><p>“I will.” She gave out another smile, then gently waved her hand. “Bye mom. Bye dad.”</p><p> </p><p>And turned away. Facing the small sign in which the school name was elegantly carved.</p><p> </p><p>Jung Dok High School.</p><p> </p><p>It was HanDong’s turn to suppress a sigh before getting inside that cold grey building.</p><p> </p><p>Her parents were watching. She didn’t want them to be worried because of a small hunch coming from her own imagination.</p><p> </p><p>It could be nothing, after all.</p><p>-----------------------------------------------</p><p>Her hunch turned out to be… not so right. But it wasn’t totally wrong, either.</p><p> </p><p>The bright side was, despite the language barrier, she could keep up quite well with the lessons taught on classes. Spending time on studying, listening to K-pop, watching K-Drama, and imitating Korean actresses' accent wasn’t a waste. At least she could understand around seventy percent of what the teacher was teaching, which was already more than her own expectation. </p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Well, there was no ‘and’. Unfortunately, maybe, but not unexpectedly.</p><p> </p><p>“This is HanDong. She’s from Wuhan, and just moved to Korea recently. She will be joining our class from today.” Her teacher gave out a brief introduction. “I hope you guys could get along well.” Then turned to her with a near expressionless smile. “If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask your friends, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t imagine calling anybody in this room ‘friend’. “Yes sir.” She simply nodded; eyes scanned through her class one more time.</p><p> </p><p>HanDong hated being the centre of attention, but it couldn’t be helped anyway. It was similar to some kind of weird baptism or ritual that every new student had to endure. Her case just appeared to be a little worse than the other, that was all.</p><p> </p><p>Yeah. If she could consider these glares ‘a little worse’. Amusing, evaluating, considering, questioning, wondering, underestimating, she was able to spot a few, not all, and yet, their stares <em>stung </em>her nape pretty badly. Heat crawled up to her cheek and skin. A string of cold sweat started to condense, and it took her quite an effort to keep her voice in a neutral tone and to pronounce her formal greet most local-likely as possible.</p><p> </p><p>“Nice to meet you all. Please take good care of me.”</p><p> </p><p>She politely bowed, refused to express her true uneasiness, and when she stood up again, at least, few faces had loosened up a bit. And she didn’t have to suffer from that attention too long. Her teacher just assigned her a seat, and started the lesson right after recognising that she didn’t intend to say anything else.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t really <em>look</em> at her. But that was fine by her, too. Her attention to whatever happened around could finally fade. The first class was literature, which she wasn’t quite ready yet, and it was a good thing. At least she could be distracted from the quiet gossips behind her back to concentrate, hard, to follow the content, and temporarily kick her worries to the back of her head.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, it didn’t vanish just by being ignored. It was there, she acknowledged its existence. She just didn’t really know why, but to be honest, she wasn't really keen on understanding it either.</p><p> </p><p>But she knew. Right in her very first fifteen-minute break.</p><p> </p><p>“My, that’s was some <em>really </em>good hand writing.” Turning around, the girl sitting right in front of her exclaimed with a hint of… What? Disappointment? “And you managed to note all the important points, too. You must have work hard, mustn’t you? Is Korean easy to learn?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong forced her lips to curl up a bit. She was no expert at reading people, but she couldn’t misinterpret her words. <em>I didn’t think someone like </em>you <em>could be </em>this<em> good. </em>Nothing more, nothing less. It might be unintentional, but that was something she wasn’t too sure.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.” Swallowing down a sarcastic comment, she mannerly replied with a nearly perfect Korean accent. “I still need to learn a lot more, though. It’s <em>really</em> hard, but I’ll do my best.”</p><p> </p><p>The other girl looked at her, as if she was hoping to find any hint of fakeness or displeasure in her voice and gesture. But she failed. <em>Of course. </em>Then followed by a humph, an either I-guess-so or you-better-be shrug, before finally leaving her alone.</p><p> </p><p>Some of the other classmates waiting for a drama scene were now back to their chit-chats, jokes, and gossips, clearly disheartened. Only until then, feeling that she was no longer attracting more unnecessary attention, HanDong allowed herself to secretly release a sigh of relief.</p><p> </p><p>Luckily, she had prepared herself beforehand. After all, sometimes, rumours could also be facts.</p><p> </p><p>Even though her classmates weren’t too obvious, discrimination did exist. Just like a brand-new string of spider web lingering around. Not too noticeable, but it was there, and definitely not easy to get rid of.</p><p> </p><p>And she doubted if it was just because she was a foreigner. It was hard to tell. Her class wasn’t on top in terms of study achievements, but still. She did everything she could in the entrance test. Her top score at the old high school in Wuhan could only help her to land in the average rank class in a Korean school.</p><p> </p><p>Which was okay. To <em>her, </em>it was okay. Not to the headmaster, nor to her teacher, though. Not that she minded, either, but she couldn’t help but noticing how different the atmosphere had turned into once classes started. An intense quietness, and amazing focus abilities had perfectly covered hidden competitive spirits boiling beneath.</p><p> </p><p>So she wasn’t sure if the other girl’s attitude was because of her nationality, or just because she was afraid of having to bear a burden dragging the whole class ranking down.</p><p> </p><p>And it tired HanDong more quickly than she thought.</p><p> </p><p>But it wouldn’t be long until the self-study period. And there was lunchtime, too. She could quickly go to somewhere else, recharged, refreshed, and be back on track in the afternoon. It would be alright. At least now she knew what to expect for this time.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey new girl.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong turned to her left to face the girl just calling out loud. She was good looking, no point in denying that. Smooth hair. Healthy skin. Small face. Bright eyes. Straight nose. And seductive pair of lips. She possessed a type of beauty that could easy attract people’s gazes, attention, and maybe, admiration too, no doubt.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes fell on the name tag pinned on the other girl’s left chest. Kim ChanMi, it read. Based on the number of people gossiping while pretending to mind their own business, it seemed like Miss Popular of the class, no, of the whole school even, would like something more than just to say hi.</p><p> </p><p>“Wanna come studying with us?”</p><p> </p><p>Her lips smiled, so did her eyes, and yet, it still got on HanDong’s nerves somehow. Maybe because she didn’t like the flatness in her voice tone. Or how she hadn’t called her by her name. Or the way her eyes scrutinising her, and assuming that she didn’t notice.</p><p> </p><p>Beautiful. Yet arrogant. A combination the Chinese was never fond of.</p><p> </p><p>So HanDong simply shook her head with a shy (or so she hoped) smile. “I’m good, thank you. Need to go to the library for some books, so maybe next time?”</p><p> </p><p>Kim ChanMi’s eyes squinted in displease, so lightly that she thought she was just imagining things. Seriously, it was hard to say. Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was. This uncertainty didn’t make her feel any better, but to be honest, it might not matter that much.</p><p> </p><p>Time would tell. No one could hide their true colour forever anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, okay.” Kim ChanMi nodded with a friendly smile, and stood up to join the other two girls waiting for her near the class door. “Next time then. See ya.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong’s gaze followed her until the girl’s back was out of her sight. Then, she quietly sighed, before standing up and heading to the library, even though she didn’t really plan on doing it. But yeah. She didn’t know what to do in this self-study period. Library did seem like a good place to have a break from facing human being in general, and she needed to study too, so why not?</p><p> </p><p>So there she went; her legs were moving, but for some reasons, her brain kept rewinding the last brief conversation she had with that girl.</p><p> </p><p>Kim ChanMi.</p><p> </p><p>Actually, it didn’t hurt to join a group study, especially when she was still a new comer. But there was something triggering her awareness. HanDong, after all, was a nobody. Her grades weren’t <em>that </em>good, and even if it’d been good enough, Kim ChanMi wouldn’t have known. And she was completely new, too. Why would an appeared-to-be-queen-bee specifically ask for her to join her group?</p><p> </p><p>Purely thanks to her kindness? For no reasons, that sounded weird even to her own ears.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, she didn’t want to stand out that much. Being near a popular figure wasn’t her cup of tea any…</p><p> </p><p>“Out! Out! Out of my way please!”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong’s mind was brutally pulled back to reality, but not fast enough for her to react. The next thing she knew, her chest was crashed by a hell of force, knocking her down to the tile floor on her ass, and her face was hit by something like a one-ton carton box, painfully hard.</p><p> </p><p>Then yet, that wasn’t the worst part.</p><p><br/>
The worst part was that she was reluctantly turned into a cushion for someone to fall right on. Now she was buried under a damn heavy box, and a fifty-kilogram sack of bones, flesh, and organs. Moving wasn’t an available choice, since no one seemed to have any intention to heave the weigh off her slim body, and laughs started to reach her eardrums even before her brain could process what the heck was going on.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god, I’m so, so sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>She heard a female voice gasping in guilt. She didn’t want to be rude, but honestly… Her backside was sore. Her back screamed in pain. Her face, her front, in fact, her whole body was protesting against the sudden hurt. Could she care about anything else? Of course not. She didn’t think anyone can, either.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh God, oh my God…” Apologizing non-stop, the girl falling on top of her struggled, accidently pressed her hand on HanDong’s poor shoulders to get up, made her blurt out a hurtful grunt. “Oh God, I’m really sorry… I’m so, so, <em>so, </em>sorry… I didn’t mean to… I’m just… Someone’s leg… I stumbled… I’m really sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong almost rolled her eyes, if she was capable of. Instead of saying something useless as apologies, can this girl just get the fu…, <em>no, don’t swear</em>, off?</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, are you hurt?” <em>You need to ask? </em>“Are you ok?” <em>Yeah, fine as fu…</em> HanDong silently replied to her stupid questions, wanted nothing more than being free from this weigh, so she could breathe in something rather than the other’s floral scent, which, in this case, was suffocating her even harder.</p><p> </p><p>Then about two-thousand years later (or so she thought), air got its way to HanDong’s lungs when the culprit finally managed to get both herself and her carton box off. Was it how it felt like when two main characters of a stupid movies met, and fell for each other later on? Every inch of her body was throbbing, and it wasn’t pleasant, not one bit, even when she realised the culprit was fairly pretty and cute to her taste. How could the two main characters fall in love in this kind of cliché scenario by the way? Was that because the director asked them to?</p><p> </p><p>Cursed those stupid movies. Cursed her luck. And cursed her overthinking mind as well.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, are you ok? Can you stand up? Should I take you to the infirmary?”</p><p> </p><p>Maybe she should.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m fine.” She said, slightly shook her head before standing up with the other’s help. “It’s alright. You didn’t do it on purpose.” <em>Maybe not, </em>but she wasn’t interested in finding out if it was unintentional or not. “I didn’t p…”</p><p> </p><p>“Nice acrobatic, YooHyeonnie.” A whistling male voice cut her off. “I really should’ve filmed that hell of a fall. Are you sure you don’t want to join the circus?”</p><p> </p><p>“To make them go bankrupt in less than a heartbeat?” Rolling her eyes, the other girl drily responded with a hint of suppressed hurry. “No, I’m not that cruel, thank you. Now…” Her attention went back to HanDong, who was observing the whole situation, and started to understand what was going on. “Are you sure you’re ok?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong nodded; eyes landed on the huge carton box lying on the floor, then switched to the other girl. Now she realised that this girl was tall, so tall that not noticing her was actually out of question. “I’m fine.” She murmured, mostly to herself. “Should have seen you and your box coming in.”</p><p> </p><p>The taller girl stared at her, her puppy eyes full of questions, uncertainties, guiltiness, and worries, but she didn’t oppose to what HanDong had said.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, I’m really, really sorry.” Seemed to decide to believe in what she’d been told earlier, YooHyeon bent down, struggled quite a lot to pick up the box, and when she could get back up, she looked her in the eyes, her gaze sparkled with genuine guilt. “But if you’re fine… I mean, I’m in a hurry now…” She didn’t let her to respond to any of her talk. “Are you going to the library?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese’s eyebrows frowned in an obvious surprise. Did she say anything about it before?</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah… But how…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, cool.” Ignoring her question, the taller girl hastily interrupted. “So… Entrance, to the left, third row, number seven. And maybe, right-hand side of the entrance, second row, number three.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong eyebrows was now knitted into a straight line. Was she supposed to know what that mean?</p><p> </p><p>“What are you…?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d love to make it up to you, but I’m kinda late already.” The taller girl said, now firmly held the box in her hand, shot another sorry smile to her. “So maybe next time then. See you around.”</p><p> </p><p>And without any further explanations, she fled in a rush, left HanDong’s stupor, as well as a thousand questions running in her overloaded brain behind.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What in the world…?</em>
</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>“So… let me try re-telling it in a shorter version. Your morning consists of self-introducing, which is terrible but explainable, meeting some might-be-mean classmates, bumping into someone, being hit by a huge-and-heavy box in the head, and now having a fucking big bruise on your elegant forehead?”</p><p> </p><p>Lee GaHyeon, the girl was assigned to give her a detour of this school in day one, whom she coincidently met in the library, who had been kind enough to ask how her day had been, sarcastically concluded. HanDong just nodded, gently rolled the ice pack against her skin to soothe the pain. That’d summed up pretty much everything.</p><p> </p><p>“Un-fucking-believable.” Shaking her head, the younger girl muttered in disbelief. “Your lifetime lucks must have decided to expire in just one-single-morning.”</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me something I don’t know, but thanks for pointing it out anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong drily replied, kinda enjoyed the way GaHyeon’s eyes rolling at her nonchalant comment. To be honest, she didn’t expect this conversation to be this amusing. Of course, it was just casual and carefree rantings to colleagues or classmates, like, oh, you know, shit happens, but not something I couldn’t handle, blah blah blah, but her reactions were surprisingly funny.</p><p> </p><p>She had expected a gasp when someone seeing a bruise on her face. GaHyeon had gasped, not too dramatically though.</p><p> </p><p>She had expected a “Gosh, are you ok? You need to go and check it asap. I mean, it must hurt so much. It's so sad, and I’m really sorry.” with caring tone, not-so-sorry yet polite smile, and ignorant pair of eyes before leaving to care for their own business.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, GaHyeon’d been like. “What the fuck just happened to you?” while actually getting closer to her and attentively examining her forehead. “Damn, it’s swollen already. Wait here. I’ll be right back.” then left, and returned in five minutes, with a small plastic bag of ice, and a fresh cleaned towel.</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll help ease the pain somehow, and hopefully, the swelling as well.”</p><p> </p><p>She’d said, and while applying the ice pack on her head, despite the cold on her skin, HanDong couldn’t help but feeling warmth swelling in her chest. At least, this friendly little girl didn’t just say and do nothing. In fact, it was complete contrary. And even though the Chinese didn’t tell her everything, her thoughts included, and GaHyeon’s swearing was kind of too much to her normal liking, she still enjoyed the younger girl’s companion anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Enough to not want to leave and be alone somewhere else.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never met anyone having luck that’s half as bad as yours, but at least, lunchtime is close, so nothing should happen for now.” GaHyeon loudly yawned, didn’t even attempt to cover her wide opened mouth. “I hope.” She quietly added before raising her sharp eyebrows and smoothly changed the subject. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Do you want to, like, join some kind of music club in our school? I remember your mom said something about you wanting to pursuit singing career?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong was surprised that she remembered. Her mother had mentioned that (once), but it was quite nonchalant though. Or so she thought. Yet, she nodded. Nothing to hide about it, and that was partly why her parents had tried so hard to help her applying for this school in particular. In a country that values academic study like South Korea, Jung Dok High School was different from most of the other high schools. It was focusing on teaching and training not only academics, but also music, art, and sports. Which was quite odd, but, well… It suited her goal, and that was all she needed.</p><p> </p><p>And its reputation for all aspects was, amazingly and unrealistically, no joke.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m still thinking about it.” Leaning on the back of her chair, HanDong simply replied. “Haven’t decided yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Your mom did say you liked singing though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, but I do like playing violin too.” She quickly added when noticing the younger’s interested eyes. “And no, I’m not good at it. Practiced a lot, but my violin was just coughing out some sound like a whining cat, and scared my real pet cat away whenever I play.”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon let out a soft chuckle. “And you have to choose to most difficult one to like.” Then, she patted her shoulders, empathetically nodded her head. “But yeah. That damn thing does sound great. It can flow, yet it can also drift, all depends on how talented the violinist is. If getting rid of the fact that it’s hard like hell to play, violin’s kinda like the best of both worlds, eh?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong could only nod in agreement.</p><p> </p><p>“But singing’s cool, too.” The younger girl started to spin the pen she was holing for quite a while without writing anything down to her note. “So why are you hesitating if you’ve already crossed out one of the two choices you have?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl remained silent. Not because she didn’t want to answer, but because she didn’t actually know the answer. Why was she hesitating? The choice should be obvious, shouldn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>But yeah. This was one of a rare moment when she didn’t really know what she wanted. Damn. What everyone considered life-changing choices, moving, for example, were way easier for her to make.</p><p> </p><p>“But well, take your time.” GaHyeon, despite being younger than her, was sensitive enough to notice her discomfort. “It’s your first day anyway. You’d better focus on healing your bruise first.”</p><p> </p><p>The amused smirk on her lips lightened HanDong's mood, and it was her turn to let out a giggle this time.</p><p> </p><p>“Or studying more Korean.” She said, half-jokingly. “Speaking of it, your language’s pretty much like violin, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>“Never thought of that before.” The younger girl shrugged with a smile. "I'll agree with the hard like hell part, but I don’t think you’ll like the language as much as violin. By the way, you’re kidding, right? I wouldn’t even think you’re a foreigner if I didn’t know beforehand, and I really, really…” She emphasized on this word when seeing HanDong’s protesting face. “… mean it. Don’t you dare denying me.”</p><p> </p><p>Pride suddenly invaded HanDong’s chest in form of swelling heat, but she tried her best not to let it show up to her face. And no, she’d never doubted GaHyeon’s words, even though she hadn’t known her for a long time. This girl was the type of people saying whatever she was thinking out loud. No need to read any further into her actual intention, because this girl would just show her, literally, everything lingering in her mind.</p><p> </p><p>Which was good.</p><p> </p><p>“That was kind <em>and </em>exaggerating.” She shook her head in a pretended disagreement. “But you know, speaking might be ok, but grammar and formality…”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Her eyebrows were amazing. Her eyes were also amazing. They could literally show every kind of expressions and feeling of their owner, clearly, obviously, and therefore, genuinely. So, it wasn’t hard for HanDong to notice her retorting mode had changed into reluctantly defeated mode through her shrinking eyes and a pouting pair of lips in just a few seconds.</p><p> </p><p>“Welcome to my dream world.” She tiredly grunted, her head now leaning on her stretched arm on the table. “Now you’ve mentioned it, it’s such a pain in the ass in the beginning…”</p><p> </p><p>“Just the beginning?”</p><p> </p><p>Her blurted-out double-meaning question made the younger raise her eyebrows; her eyes slightly squinted, as if she had noticed something…</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I see.” Then a devilish smile suddenly bloomed on her delicate thin lips. “We have a hidden savage in the house.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong gave her a wink, and both of them burst out into laughter at the same time; their laughs only died down when someone loudly shooed toward their direction, as a reminder for them to shut up. Well, the Chinese girl couldn’t say anything but blurting out an apology. They were in the library, the most quietness-desired in a whole wide world after all.</p><p> </p><p>“But you do have a point.” GaHyeon finally admitted. “My essays suck, my Literature grades are a total disaster, and I’m not very good with wording either.”</p><p> </p><p>That was something HanDong couldn’t agree on, but unlike her hopefully-to-be-new friend, she couldn’t say whatever she thought out loud, even to comfort, and give her some sort of empathy and support.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway.” The younger girl voice cheered up all in a sudden. “If you want to find some extra books about Korean, just go straight ahead to the entrance, then when you reach it, just count. Third row, shelf number seven. You’ll find heaps of them over there…”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon's words froze HanDong right on her spot. <em>Wait, what?</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“Is it on the left-hand side? Of the entrance, I mean?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese unsurely asked, completely forgot about lifting GaHyeon’s mood up; her own newly lifted mood threatened to vanish in no time. And to her disappointment, GaHyeon just nodded, confirming exactly what she was doubting.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Entrance, to the left, third row, number seven…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She had heard those words less than an hour ago. Definitely not long enough for someone with good memory like her to easily forget. But... It wasn't the only part that tall girl had mentioned, was it?</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, GaHyeon?”</p><p> </p><p>The little girl just hummed in response, and HanDong had to try her best to keep her voice at a neutral tone.</p><p> </p><p>“What kind of books are stored on the right-hand side of the entrance, second row, shelf number three?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl frowned a bit, maybe confused by her weird question, or maybe she was just focused to remember what was kept on that specific shelf. Or maybe both. Because less than ten seconds after being asked, she was able to give out an answer.</p><p> </p><p>“Music books and sheets, I think. For stringed instruments…”</p><p> </p><p>She continued to say something else, but HanDong’s brain had stopped taking her words in. Stringed instruments? Violin was definitely a stringed instrument.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Maybe, right-hand side of the entrance, second row, number three.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>And not to mention the first half of those strange words…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Entrance, to the left, third row, number seven.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“… Just go straight ahead to the entrance, then count. Third row, shelf number seven…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Korean grammar textbooks were what she’d just thought of needing to read a few minutes ago.</p><p> </p><p>The face of the other girl advising her way before she even needed it popped back to her head. And a bunch of unanswered questions, too. What the hell…? How on earth did she know that? How could she tell what HanDong needed even before she could realise?</p><p> </p><p>And one of the most important question was…</p><p> </p><p>Who the hell was she?</p><p>--------------------------------------</p><p>Meanwhile, somewhere in the backstage.</p><p> </p><p>Kim YooHyeon’d just loudly sneezed non-stop; her eyebrows furrowed, deeply.</p><p> </p><p>A cold? But how could a healthy person like her catch a cold? Or did someone just gossip behind her back? Nah, she shrugged that thought off. She was too kind and invisible to be gossiped about.</p><p> </p><p>Then she continued to do her job, totally carefree.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t matter anyway.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so to be completely honest, I wasn't fair to you guys by not providing enough information, so I won't ask what do you think the answers for Dongie's questions could be, but I promised, when coming to the real case, all the necessary info will be presented. Let me know what you think, comments and kudos, of course, are appreciated, and please bear with my slow writing speed, especially during DeuKae's promotion week. I need to spend a lot of time on streaming instead of writing, and I absolutely want our girls to have the 1st win they deserved :'( Until next time~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. “So basically, except for some parts of her brain, she’s a dead loss?”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi, so, I'm back :"&gt; Not really know what else to say after hours of streaming and writing, but thank you for all the views, kudos, and comment. Please excuse my grammar and vocab mistakes, and I hope you'll enjoy the next chap as well :"&gt;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Guys, guys, you may not believe in this, but…”</p><p> </p><p>The sound of hands smashing on the poor plastic table, following by a shout startled almost everyone around.</p><p> </p><p>“I FUCKED UP!”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin raised her head to look at the culprit ruining her eardrums every single day. Or, actually, if she had to be fair, this tall puppy in front of her wasn’t too loud, too <em>often </em>at least, but still… Seriously, first, why would believing in her friend messing up with something or someone be hard? As if she didn’t do just that at least once a week, if she was lucky.</p><p> </p><p>And second…</p><p> </p><p>YuBin just wanted to eat her roast kukuma in peace. Man, was this request too hard to be granted?</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, you fucked up. Can you be a little bit louder, please? I think the corner over there hasn’t heard you yet.” She calmly stated; attention headed back to her favourite food in hand. “And you’re late, as always. Anything new?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m serious, YuBin.” YooHyeon continued; eyes filled with guilt and near-frantic aimed straight at her with a pressed pair of lips, which was pretty rare, to show how serious she was. “I know I’m always late, but this is irrelevant. I fucked up badly this time. I still can’t believe it…”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” Putting her beloved kukuma down, YuBin straightened her back, threw a quick glance to the girl sitting in front of her before moving up to meet her best friend’s eyes. “I’m listening. How so?”</p><p> </p><p>Annoyingly groaned, her friend sat down to an empty chair, shoved her hand to her dishevelled hair, finally started, and luckily, went straight to the point.</p><p> </p><p>“I literally threw the prop box to a girl’s face.” Deeply inhaling, she dropped the bomb. “… and ran away.”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin stunned; eyes shifted to the girl sitting next to her friend again, speechlessly amazed. Wow. The prop box? That must have hurt like hell.</p><p> </p><p>“And you know what’s worse? I completely forgot…”</p><p> </p><p>“… To ask her info to make it up for your clumsiness?”</p><p> </p><p>“Or tell her mine!” YooHyeon exclaimed, hand raised to rub her temples in disbelief. “I knew which grade she’s in, but not the class… I couldn’t see her name very well, either. I can’t believe it. How can I even forget that?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s so you though…”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe because I was in a hurry. I only realised that I forgot when finishing my detention…” Her friend continued ranting, completely ignored her murmur. “And the other half? No, it had nothing to do with my clumsiness. That idiot Jeon HyunWoo tripped me up. He must have done it on purpose. Pay back for the time I accidentally exposed his cheating, I reckon…”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin raised her eyebrows.</p><p> </p><p>“…”</p><p> </p><p>“…”</p><p> </p><p>“…”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, that wasn’t a total accident.” YooHyeon jumpily admitted. “At first, maybe, but anyway.” Her voice suddenly pitched. “It’s not what I’m trying to say…”</p><p> </p><p>“And you’re sure that was HyunWoo’s leg? ‘Cause I think I saw you tripped over a wind once…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure…”</p><p> </p><p>“Or twice…”</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon shot a (not so) deathly glare toward her.</p><p> </p><p>“Or all the time…”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl threw a piece of tissue at her, but of course, missed. YuBin watched the thin paper flying and miserably falling way before it could reach her, struggled hard to decide which type of expression she should put on her face.</p><p> </p><p>Her friend was, literally, hopeless.</p><p> </p><p>Then she looked at the quiet girl sitting next to YooHyeon, couldn’t help but wondering. Shouldn’t she say something? Or did she just plan on remaining silent like this?</p><p> </p><p>“The thing is, I really, really want to apologise to her, like, properly.” Leaning on the table, the tall girl sombrely whined. “It must have hurt so much. I mean, my arms are still sore after bringing it down to the theatre club, and yet, I… Damn. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This suck.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then do it.” Shrugging, YuBin matter-of-factly suggested. “Apologise to her directly, then your problem’s solved, right?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, it was YooHyeon’s eyebrows’ turn to rise up. “And how am I supposed to do just that if I had no idea who she is, or which class she goes to, or where she lives? I don’t even know her name to ask GaHyeonnie…”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin opened her mouth, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Or, actually…” The taller girl didn’t let her talk. “You know what?”</p><p> </p><p>A devilish grin, which YuBin was never fond of, appeared on her friend’s lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Forget it. I think I can figure out who she is. But I’m gonna need <em>your</em> help…”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin frowned. Did she mention she hadn’t liked this tone of hers as well? If not, then yup. She didn’t like it. Was never a fan of it, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Or no, wait, that’s too risky, you’ll be doomed for good if <em>you </em>get caught…”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyebrows furrowed more deeply. Why was there only a you and not a we?</p><p> </p><p>“Right, or I can…”</p><p> </p><p>Then followed by a chain of self-mutters coming from the taller girl. Seriously, from an outsider point of view, it must be pretty scary to see YooHyeon like that, but… Well, YuBin just carefreely shrugged when catching the other girl’s super puzzled gaze. She was too used to it anyway. It wasn’t the first time her friend was just sinking too deeply into her own thoughts, and definitely not the last time.</p><p> </p><p>“Yup, yes, yes, I can do just that, then problem’s solved. Thanks a lot, YuBin. You truly are my saviour.”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin looked up, didn’t know what she had done to be thanked for, but anyway. Finally, she could enjoy her kukuma in peace. Slowly chewing on her all-time comfort food, she knew that there was nothing else for her to worry about. Her friend had returned to reality, now happily snapped her fingers, and she was so damn sure her problem would be solved in no time.</p><p> </p><p>Old habit died hard. She only did that when she knew what to do. Besides…</p><p> </p><p>The short-haired thought about it for a second, but decided to do nothing but observing.</p><p> </p><p>This was gonna be fun.</p><p> </p><p>“Awesome, that’s it. I’m such a genius.” Being totally relaxed, her tall friend gave her a goofy smile before turning to her left, like she’d just realised there was someone sitting next to her all of a sudden, and comfortably pulled her in for a warm and tight embrace without a second thought. “And why is our GaHyeonnie so quiet today? After all of this, are you finally able to empathise with my bad luck?”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin was stunned. Again.</p><p> </p><p>And so was the other girl; her body visibly stiffened in YooHyeon’s hug. No one was able to react. Even YooHyeon’s smile froze, and slowly faded; her eyebrows switched into a frown, as if she realised there was something wrong. And before YuBin could decode her friend’s facial expression, she suddenly blurted out loud, maybe without thinking anything about it.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, why is our GaHyeonnie taller? And bonier?” She squeezed the flesh underneath her hand. “And more muscular too?”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin swallowed, hard. She still couldn’t figure out what to say, because…</p><p> </p><p>“Did you just call me short and fat?”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon’s threatening voice dangerously called out behind YooHyeon’s back, and YuBin couldn’t missed the oops-I-fucked-up-again look on her tall friend’s face. Just like a lost and terrified puppy. If the little girl wasn’t too angry as she looked, YuBin would probably laugh into YooHyeon’s face because of this comical expression of hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhm… No?” YooHyeon weakly asked, before letting out a stupidly cover-up laugh. “You’re huggable, that’s what I meant… Pliant. And soft, you see? And… Uhm, small. And cute. Did I mention cute?”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon’s eyes squinted, but she didn’t say anything else.</p><p> </p><p>And here came the moment of truth.</p><p> </p><p>YuBin could hear her tall friend’s brain cells operating like crazy inside her mind when she sluggishly released the girl she’d pulled into her lap, and looked around. A pissed off GaHyeon was surely scary, but… YuBin had to admit. The tall girl’s fear toward a scary GaHyeon was nothing comparing to the shock she had when she realised who she had just carefreely pulled into a tight embrace without a single thought. Or, in this case, look, to be precise.</p><p> </p><p>Wow. This was gonna be doubly fun.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, fuck it.” GaHyeon’s patience never lasted long. “Unnie, what happened in my one-minute toilet break?” Rolling her eyes, she walked toward YuBin, sat down to the empty seat next to her, and turned to her with an I’ve-had-enough voice. “Why did she hug Dong-unnie all of a sudden? And why does she turn into a statue? Please don’t tell me she’s stunned like an idiot because of pretty girls <em>again</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah. It seems like she wanted you to find someone she bumped into this morning, but then she figured out another way, which she didn’t have time to tell me yet, to look for her.” Simply summarising, YuBin shook her head at the two girls sitting opposite to them, gazes aiming at each other in disbelief, a string of amusement flickered in her bright brown eyes. “Not that it matters though. Not anymore, at least.”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon followed her sunbae’s head flinging; eyes widen, her fed-upness turned into half shock half entertained state, especially when she started to understand what was going on after putting some missing pieces into the whole puzzle. Oh God, why hadn’t she bought some popcorn? Or Oreo? Or snack?</p><p> </p><p>This episode of YooHyeon’s fucked up series was too interesting.</p><p> </p><p>“No… Shit…” She slowly exhaled. “Holy shit. The giant bumping into Dong-unnie is…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup.” YuBin turned back to her kukuma. Dang. It was cold. What a shame. “I think.”</p><p> </p><p>“You <em>think</em>? That modesty of yours’s so lame. And dramatic, too, even for a future screenwriter like you.” GaHyeon dramatically shook her head, before turning toward the two frozen statues in front of her; lips curled into a wicked smirk. “By the way, how long are you guys gonna stay like that? Lunch doesn’t last all day, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>At least, HanDong was able to move. She threw a death glare, which was definitely deathlier than YooHyeon’s, toward GaHyeon, but couldn’t really hide a string of amusement in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>And she blurted out a chuckle. Followed by GaHyeon’s. Then YuBin’s. YooHyeon’s was the last to join, even though hers was kinda shier than the rest. Then chuckles turned into disbelieving laughs. Loud and non-stop laughter, enough to grab everyone else’s attention. Some looked at them with curiosity. Some looked at them with displeasure. Some looked at them with irritation. Some of them even seemed like they wanted to strangle the girls for being so loud in public area, where everything should be kept quieter than their laughs.</p><p> </p><p>Yet none of the four actually cared.</p><p> </p><p>And it felt good. So good. So…</p><p> </p><p>Free.</p><p> </p><p>“Gosh, I can’t believe it.” YooHyeon was the first one being able to say something, hand still held on her stomach for laughing too much. “How small can this school be? I mean, damn. I don’t even know what to say now…”</p><p> </p><p>“Mind you, that’s a serious problem.” YuBin reminded HanDong, who was still smiling after that hell of a laughter. “Most of the time this puppy couldn’t stop talking…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, even though she looked so shy when you first met her.” GaHyeon teasingly added, totally having fun from dissing her very own best friend. “I could never regain my peace, starting from the day she showed me her true colour, so don’t let this cutie face fool you, Dong-unnie. Run away before it’s too late.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not <em>that </em>talkative, ok?” YooHyeon weakly retorted, her lips pouted when no one actually cared to even talk back. “And swear to God, I’m not annoying. Not at all. GaHyeon’s more annoying. She likes whining all the time, you know that?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong just smiled at the youngest’s words. She didn’t say anything, yet YuBin’d already understood.</p><p> </p><p>It was already too late. But she didn’t think the Chinese would ever regret it though. When GaHyeon brought her down for lunch, she could see her shyness, and somehow, her loneliness as well. She unconsciously hid them well, of course, but still. The girl was just too familiar with it to even notice by herself.</p><p> </p><p>And she could see the enjoyment of having company after all this time of being alone sparkled in her brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Just leave them.” Ignoring the giant-dwarf pair, YuBin gave HanDong a gentle smile. “They’re always like that. It’s like breathing. They can’t live without dissing each other at least once a day.”</p><p> </p><p>The other girl nodded, a faint smile painted on her lips, and YuBin couldn’t say that she didn’t like it. Her impression with HanDong was kinda… How could she put it? Suppressed? Like she was holding everything inside. Chained. Tamed. Wasn’t her true self, so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>At least this smile, fainted, yes, but it was her true feeling after all.</p><p> </p><p>“So…” The short-haired titled her head. “Mind if I ask you something?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese amusingly mimicked her action. “If I said no…” Plus a raised pair of eyebrows, and a string of hidden wickedness in her clear brown eyes. “… would you not ask?”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin swallowed again, this time not just a small lump on her throat, but the heat starting to crawl up to her cheek as well. Damn. This girl might look reserved, but she definitely knew how to show up her charm and charisma if she wanted to.</p><p> </p><p>“I won’t. And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, firmly stated. Not just because HanDong was elegantly beautiful. Not just because she always had some soft spots for bombshells in general. It was her thing, after all. Being respectful to be respected, as simple as it sounded.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, if she really wanted, she would work on some other ways to figure it out.</p><p> </p><p>So she was pretty relaxed when facing HanDong’s gaze, which consisted of consideration and amusement, if she wasn’t wrong. Not that she thought she was anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay then.” The Chinese finally shrugged, a lazy gesture, but attractive like hell. “Go ahead.”</p><p> </p><p>“Besides throwing a heavy prop box into your face, accidentally hugging you without your permission, and impolitely squeezing your shoulders, did this giant puppy do anything else to you?”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin’s question was successfully stole not only HanDong’s unexpecting blink, but also YooHyeon’s attention, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, there’s more?” Rolling her eyes, GaHyeon threw at her sunbae an I-don’t-know-you look. “Shame on you, but why am I not surprised?”</p><p> </p><p>Eyes widen; the tallest’s gaze kept moving between her and the Chinese, weakly stuttered.</p><p> </p><p>“Wha… But… But… I didn’t…” Her confused yet jumpy look fixed on HanDong; her voice revealed a hint of uncertainty. “I mean, I didn’t do anything more than those three, did I?”</p><p> </p><p>“To be honest, I’m not too sure.” Tilting her head, the Chinese slightly pouted, then turned to YuBin with a more serious expression this time. “But why are you asking? I don’t really recall of anything…”</p><p> </p><p>“You should have seen your face when she appeared.” She simply explained, hand using a pair of chopsticks to pick up a small piece of fried chicken from the steel tray to her mouth. “Like you wished for nothing more than staying a thousand meters away from her, but something stopped you from leaving, if that makes sense?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong’s eyes glittered, a visible string of realisation was caught by YuBin’s gaze. So she was right. There really <em>was </em>something else.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that…”</p><p> </p><p>Raising her eyebrows, she drawled, emphasised on her last word, and teasingly smiled at an extremely confused YooHyeon. Damn. This girl could easily be someone’s death someday. Lucky for YuBin’s best friend, at least she started to explain, finally gave her poor not-so-little girl a break.</p><p> </p><p>“Not exactly what she’d done, really. But she did say something, and I’m curious, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Am? Not was?” YuBin’s head rose from her food plate. “And enough to not leaving even though you wanted?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh…” GaHyeon suddenly smirked and crossed her arms. “I get it. I think. Another bad habit of hers, I bet…”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” The culprit protested, clearly tried hard to remember what she’d said or done. “By the way, how can I have a bad habit?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, Ms. Perfect, you don’t have any. Happy?” Rolling her eyes for the thousandth time, the youngest ignored her dramatic retort before turning to HanDong. “Was that why you asked me what’s in that shelf? It was her telling you that after knocking you down, then fleeing without explaining, wasn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Being surprised and impressed, the Chinese girl nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Long story short, she asked if I was going to the library without me slipping a word out of my lips.” She said, seemed casual, but the way her eyes fixing on YooHyeon told YuBin a different story. “And she told me the place I should go to look for Korean grammar books way before I realised I needed them.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh… So it’s just that?” The culprit’s face loosened up in a single second, hand rested on her chest after releasing a suppressed sigh of relief. “Yah, you really scared me.” Whining, she painfully pouted. “I thought I fucked something up again. And damn, I haven’t even apologised to you yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“No more of that, please.” HanDong gently flicked her hand, firm voice didn’t let the tall girl to oppose her word. “You have apologised <em>a lot </em>when you landed on me, and I’m not accepting anymore sorry from you. Or…” A wicked smirk bloomed on her lips. “… not in form of speech, at least…”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin could tell that YooHyeon was shivering in her boots, her laugh and tone were a mixture of anxiousness and uncertainty.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok…” She swallowed hard. “So what do you want me to do, then?”</p><p> </p><p>“Easy, just explain to me.” Tilting her head, HanDong put up a nothing-but-curiosity face. “How on earth did you know where I was going? And how did you know what I was looking for? Was me being a foreigner that obvious?”</p><p> </p><p>There was no malice in her voice, even though the last part sounded a little bit harsh. Personally, YuBin could vaguely be aware of the reasons for this choice of word, but maybe, YooHyeon wouldn’t notice. And yup. Her frantic hand waving and wide opened eyes confirmed exactly what she was thinking about.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no, no no no, it wasn’t obvious, I swear.” Then, she unnecessarily added. “Or, not too obvious, I guess? Still took me a few seconds to notice, so…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl forced out a weak smile, didn’t really know what else to say, while GaHyeon, clearly, had just kicked her sunbae, hard, in the shin.</p><p> </p><p>“Ouchy!” The tallest girl protested. “What was that for?”</p><p> </p><p>“Being stupid with your wording.” GaHyeon simply said before finishing her glass of milk in one go. “And getting that comment from a sucker at literature like me? You’ve exceeded my expectation, unnie dear.”</p><p> </p><p>“But I was just being honest…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, cut it.” The youngest girl turned toward HanDong, looked at her straight to the eyes, and firmly said. “Ignore her, she’s just… weird. Abnormal.” She shunned a loud ‘Yah!’ coming from the tallest of them all. “I did tell you, didn’t I? I wouldn’t have recognised that if hadn’t known beforehand.”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon was being nice and honest, YuBin could tell, but she could also see that her kind word wasn’t able to ease the Chinese’s uncertainty, and maybe, faint anxieties as well. Then, finally, couldn’t hold it in for any longer, HanDong spoke out, quietly revealed her true self, and maybe just to YuBin, one of her biggest fears as well.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it because of my pronunciation?”</p><p> </p><p>Yup, here came the one-million-dollar question. This girl must have been so afraid to study like crazy before moving here. Enough to concern about, even if it was just a smallest mistake. Must have heard of a lot of rumours, too. And as much as her love for her own country, YuBin was reluctant to admit.</p><p> </p><p>That sadly, most of them weren’t wrong.</p><p> </p><p>Especially the discrimination towards foreigners, even though she couldn’t understand it. How could people mistreat someone, and allow themselves to be mean to someone just because of their origin? HanDong’s reaction, after all, was purely self-defence. She could understand why the Chinese girl didn’t like to stand out, even if she could. She could also understand why the girl was so uncertain but choosing to hide it, refused to show it out.</p><p> </p><p>No one liked to be mistreated. And not everyone could be brave enough to easily express their vulnerability to anyone, and sometimes, themselves included, too.</p><p> </p><p>How sa…</p><p> </p><p>“Eh… no?” The surprise soaking YooHyeon’s voice pulled YuBin out of her trains of thought. “Why? Is something wrong with it?”</p><p> </p><p>Now, the Chinese was even more confused because of the tall girl’s confusion. Oh yeah, YuBin completely forgot. This was the first time these two had met. Of course, she wouldn’t, and couldn’t have known.</p><p> </p><p>“Erm… How would I know?” Funny, YuBin was just using the exact same phrase in her head. “Shouldn’t you tell me what’s wrong with my pronunciation? Or my Korean? I mean, you’re the one knowing that I’m not a local, after all. And we’ve just met. I can’t think of anything but pronunciation and language to explain…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, is it what you’ve been worrying about?” A smile of realisation appeared on YooHyeon’s lips, and suddenly her cute face just… shone. “If it is, then don’t. Your pronunciation’s perfect, if you’re asking me…”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon silently shot a “See, I told ya.” look to the puzzled Chinese girl.</p><p> </p><p>“But if it’s not…”</p><p> </p><p>“Your earlobes.” Cutting her off, YooHyeon simply pointed out. “There’re piercing traces on them.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong was still lost, but YuBin had understood now. Her eyes landed on the Chinese’s partly hidden by hair ears. There was one tinny tiny little hole on each, just like what her friend said. By the way, how could she catch those two tiny holes, but hadn’t noticed the girl’s name tag to know her name?</p><p> </p><p>Oh well, she mentally shrugged. Her best friend was a weirdo after all. A loveable one, luckily.</p><p> </p><p>“In Korea, we are not allowed to have piercings <em>anywhere </em>if we still want to go to any schools, both public and private, primary, secondary, or high school.” The tall girl continued to explain. “Well, of course, you know, theoretically. Practically, you can still have piercings on somewhere that’s not visible, ‘cause no one could take off your clothes to check without your consent, theoretically again, but anyway…”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin scratched her forehead. Damn. Here she went again. The explanation without stopping at any point. Flowing like a rap song of an underground rapper. Ok, she was exaggerating, definitely, but still. YooHyeon should try to be one in the future. She had the potential to be, if she just got rid of her bad habit of exposing almost everything she noticed.</p><p> </p><p>“… Yours are pretty new, though. Must be taken off not too long ago; the holes are not closed up yet. Which makes sense anyway. Today must be your first day at school…”</p><p> </p><p>“How do you…?”</p><p> </p><p>She immediately replied. “Your uniform ironed line.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese couldn’t help but blinking. “Pardon?”</p><p> </p><p>“The linen surface is flat in general, but the lines were messed up on the shoulders and sleeves, where they were folded and held in a plastic cover before being worn. When I landed on you, it smelled new, too. And today’s the first school day after our spring break, which is the middle of our official intake every year already…”</p><p> </p><p>Now she stopped, really briefly, to look at HanDong in the eye.</p><p> </p><p>“New uniform, joining in the middle of the course, plus pierced earlobes. You can’t be a Korean who’ve just moved to another domestic school.” She simply concluded, her smile was shining with unhidden pride, before quickly adding. “Oh, and I did hear some rumours about our school having a new Chinese student as well. Might be counted as cheating a little bit, but you know…”</p><p> </p><p>“I did warn you that she talks <em>a lot</em>, didn’t I?” YuBin finally cut her friend’s non-stop ranting off. “Trust me. She could go on forever, if you just let her be.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl shook her head, her lips painted out an unbelieving smile, but her current facial features had now loosened up. A mixture of interest, surprise, and deeply impressed instead. Totally relatable. YuBin’d still remembered the first time YooHyeon just freely analysing her situation without her saying anything. Just by pure observation. Pretty legit, if she had to be honest, but there was no way she would say that out loud in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I got that part.” The Chinese nodded, now it was her turn to finish her milk carton box in one go. “But the violin… How did you know I play violin?”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon honestly admitted, which baffled her even more. “No?”</p><p> </p><p>“No?” YuBin and GaHyeon repeated, clearly surprised as well.</p><p> </p><p>“No.” The tall girl calmly confirmed. “Okay, not that I know you play violin, to be precise, but I know you play some kind of stringed instrument in general.” Before any of them could ask for a reason, she continued. “I helped you get up, remember? I could feel there were calluses on your left-hand fingertips pressing on my skin at that time.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong unconsciously rubbed her own fingertips to check. And she was right.</p><p> </p><p>“Pretty unique place to have calluses, if you ask me.” YooHyeon casually shrugged. “Can’t think of anything else could cause those but stringed instruments. And your left-hand nails are shorter than your right-hand, too. You must have cut it to be able to press the correct notes on the string, right?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl was totally speechless.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey genius, I get everything you’ve just said.” GaHyeon’s eyebrows still furrowed though. “But how the hell did you know Dong-unnie was going to the library?”</p><p> </p><p>“Her tie’s green.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl simply pointed out, like it was the most obvious fact on Earth, which it partly was, considering HanDong was definitely wearing a green and silver tie on her neck.</p><p> </p><p>“And?”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s in eleventh grade.” She shrugged, turned towards the Chinese girl. “You see, our school sorts grade based on tie colour. Tenth grade, you have already known…” Her hand now aimed at GaHyeon’s red and gold tie. “Our eleventh grade…” Her arm waved generally at HanDong, YuBin, and herself. “… is green and silver. Twelfth is blue and gold. Weird, eh? But it doesn’t matter anyway.” Then went back to the youngest one. “When I bumped into her, it was our self-study period.” Her eyes fixed on HanDong’s this time. “We are granted some time to choose either studying or joining club activities before being buried by preparation for the National exam next year.”</p><p> </p><p>“And?”</p><p> </p><p>“And she was all by her own. If no one was there to show her around, then there’s a high chance she hasn’t joined any club yet, isn’t it? It’s her first day, after all. No club activities, then what’s left for a newbie to go during her first self-study period but the top floor library? I mean, ok, she can aimlessly wander around without doing both, but doesn’t she look like a top student spending all her time on studying rather than a lazy one?”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin silently agreed. HanDong did seem like the type of student that would go straight to the library if she didn’t know where else to go, didn’t matter whether she wanted to study or not.</p><p> </p><p>“How about taking a walk? Having some fresh air?”</p><p> </p><p>“In a stuffy building like this?” YooHyeon was obviously surprised. “Has anyone ever done that?”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon opened her mouth, but stopped herself after rethinking about it. “And there’re no way to go up to the rooftop as well.” Shrugging in defeat, she returned to finish up an apple on her tray. “Okay. You won. <em>Again</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Laughing out loud, YooHyeon happily ran her hand through the youngest hair, and earned a sharp glare for herself as a reward.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be too harsh on yourself, kiddo.”</p><p> </p><p>“I hate you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, GaHyeonnie.” Holding out her arm to reach for the salt shaker, the tall girl gave her a wink back. “I love you, too.” And knocked HanDong’s water glass down on the way. “Oh shit.” And frantically retrieved the glass before it fell down to the floor. “Oh God, NO.” By a nearly miss grip.</p><p> </p><p>No one blurted out a word. And then…</p><p> </p><p>The youngest burst into laughter, while YuBin just helplessly sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry…” Regaining her calm, YooHyeon shily muttered. “That wasn’t intentional, at least…”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong, on the other hand, was quite amused by that. It didn’t crash to the floor, and she had just emptied all the water inside before the accident happened anyway, so there was absolutely no problem. What truly stimulated her interest was…</p><p> </p><p>“So basically, except for some parts of her brain, she’s a dead loss?”</p><p> </p><p>There came a moment of silence, before GaHyeon and YuBin burst into even louder and more annoying laughter this time.</p><p> </p><p>"Arg~" YooHyeon painfully groaned, but she definitely wasn't angry or something, considering her shy smile and the pink shade slowly covering her cheek. "Not you too..."</p><p> </p><p>"But she was a-hundred-percent correct, wasn't she?" GaHyeon patted YuBin's shoulders while laughing. "You see, I'm not the only one saying that."</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl's eyes reached out to YuBin for some help.</p><p> </p><p>"Can't defend you this time." The short-haired simply shrugged, tried to control her laughter. "It's hard to not agree with the truth being told by a beautiful lady, sorry."</p><p> </p><p>“Well, since you’re cute and pretty, I’ll admit what you said is true to some extent.” Turning toward a slightly pinked cheek HanDong, YooHyeon pouted, tried to save her image one last time. “But just that. I’m still cool, aren’t I? And I possess a really kind heart, let me tell you…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah?” GaHyeon, wiping some tears on her eyes out, wickedly asked. “Then why did you run away after throwing a fucking heavy box into her face without telling her who you are?”</p><p> </p><p>“Urgent issue. I had detention.” YooHyeon, for some reasons, decided to avert the youngest’s questioning gaze, and replied in a volume equalled to the sound of a mosquito. “Besides, the prop box is very important for the theatre club to…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh…” The maknae raised her voice on purpose. “The theatre club, I see…”</p><p> </p><p>“It was MinJi-sunbaenim, wasn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon’s face was even redder than when she was teased by HanDong; the blush came so abruptly just like flipping a switch. And to be honest, YuBin didn’t ask to gain back an answer, so she just let out a heavy sigh, totally defeated.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh God.” GaHyeon couldn’t hold back another laugh. “You, my friend, are fucking hopeless.”</p><p> </p><p>“And who’s MinJi-sunbaenim?”</p><p> </p><p>Nervously, the tall girl immediately shook her head. “No one.” She lied. Did anyone tell her that she was a terrible liar? “Nothing fun talking about her any…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah, you haven’t known her yet.” YuBin realised that obvious fact all of a sudden, completely ignore YooHyeon’s begging eyes. “She’s the leader of the theatre club. An allrounder ace, you could say so. Excellent in both academic and club activities…”</p><p> </p><p>“And MinJi-unnie is her…” The youngest mercilessly smiled, prepare herself to expose the biggest secret. “… all time cru…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, hi YooHyeonnie. Hi YuBinnie. And GaHyeonnie, too.”</p><p> </p><p>A sweet voice suddenly interrupted, and HanDong turned around, in awe.</p><p> </p><p>The girl in front of her was breathtakingly beautiful, and it wasn’t the type of beauty getting on her nerves. Her bright eyes curled up like a half-moon when she smiled. Straight nose, white skin, attractive lips, and a slightly loose uniform couldn’t hide the sexy curves of her body. But different from Kim ChanMi, this girl gave out another type of vibe. Softer. Gentler. Kinder. More comforting. More eye-catching, so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>And HanDong was reminded of one of her favourite song’s title.</p><p> </p><p>Hell in heaven. Perfectly fitted to YooHyeon’s current stunning state.</p><p> </p><p>“I heard my name called out somewhere.” Elegantly raising her eyebrows, the girl teasingly titled her head. “Did you guys just say something about me?”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin froze. GaHyeon struggled hard to hold back another laugh. And YooHyeon…</p><p> </p><p>After hearing those words, HanDong swore to God, the poor girl seemed to be ready to drop dead on the floor at anytime.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yup, so that's it for today, and... YuBin and MinJi finally debuted in this fic *throw flower* What do you think? It's gonna be slow built, so thank you for bearing with me, and I hope you'll stick with me till the very end :D</p><p>Until next time~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. "Jung Dok High School... The fucking famous school... of the roof-jumpers."</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>YooHyeon couldn’t believe in her luck.</p><p> </p><p>Having detention right on the first day back to school because her alarm had chosen the right time to decide to not go off, hitting someone (accidental, but still) so hard and running away, breaking nearly half of the prop she had been asked to carry down, mistaking the person she hit with her best friend, having her secret crush being nearly exposed, with her crush standing right behind her, catching up with the exact part she didn’t want her to listen, all in one day?</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie would be so proud, if she knew what happened to her in just one morning. But at least, most of the unlucky incidents had been solved somehow. Now, the most important thing was…</p><p> </p><p>Well, doing her best to avoid being sucked into her crush’s dazzling eyes, she nervously laughed, nails scratching the nape of her neck, tried to think of a valid reason to answer MinJi-sunbaenim’s question. Oh, her eyes… They were so bright… And her lips… Ah~ That mole… No, just quit it already!</p><p> </p><p>Where was she by the way?</p><p> </p><p>Right, her question. What did she…? Ah yes, the name thingy. She wasn’t too close to her little lunch gang, so how could they mention her name all of a sudden by the way?</p><p> </p><p>Think… Think… Think…</p><p> </p><p>But… Damn…</p><p> </p><p>MinJi-sunbaenim’s sunshiny smile didn’t do her any good. How could she even think with flaming cheeks, and a threatening-to-jump-out-of-the-rib-cage heart like this?</p><p> </p><p>And she might just keep standing like a stupidly speechless idiot, if GaHyeon, on the other side of their table, didn’t give her another kick in the shin, which nearly made her scream in pain. What a brat, but to be honest, YooHyeon’d never been so grateful to have that brat kicking her in the shin. At least, it pulled her down to the reality, brutally, yes, but that was something she needed, right.now.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, we were just talking about…” She eyed the name tag pinned on her new friend’s left chest. “… Our Ha-, I mean, Dongie here has always wanted to try acting on theatre stage once, so yeah, we were just getting to the part of introducing you to her, that’s all…”</p><p> </p><p>Pride suddenly invaded YooHyeon’s chest. Her improvising skills were so excellent that GaHyeon was literally staring at her, baffled and impressed, while MinJi-sunbaenim just nodded with an illegally warm smile, seemed to totally except her brilliant explanation.</p><p> </p><p>HanDong, on the other hand, shot her in the head with a face shouting out a “Really? Do I?” question, to which she had to give out a begging gaze in return. Lucky for her, the Chinese girl, despite clearly enjoying teasing her with her two best friends, just remained silent to save her ass this time.</p><p> </p><p>She secretly let out a relieving sigh. Thank God. She wouldn’t know what to say next if her lie was exposed again.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, so you’re a new student?” MinJi tilted her head; eyes moved toward HanDong’s name tag before shifting to her face with a trace of curiosity, carefully considered all kind of possibilities. “Your name is HanDong, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl shily nodded for an answer. A little bit improper, but YooHyeon couldn’t blame her for that. She was dragged into this mess, and the tall girl could easily tell that she still had no clue on which club she would like to join. And if MinJi-sunbaenim liked her… Maybe HanDong would have no other choice but joining the theatre club.</p><p> </p><p>And if she didn’t really enjoy it, or worse, getting into trouble because of this… Well, YooHyeon should be ready for a seppuku, anytime, anywhere.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t really tell how good you are just by looking at you, but if you want to, I can give you a detour around our club.” MinJi-sunbaenim finally concluded, her lips parted, flashing another heart-melting beam at HanDong (which kinda blinded YooHyeon’s eyes by the way, but that wasn’t the point). “We won’t be recruiting more for the play for the incoming Spring Festival, unfortunately, but if you don’t have any experience, then I guess it’s fine to just have a look around… And if you’re lucky, we might stumble across the other clubs’ activities, so you can have a deeper insight before deciding, too.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl raised her eyebrows when seeing her sunbae winking at the Chinese girl, eyes glittering with understanding and sympathy. Why did this sound like she didn’t buy into her lies, even a little?</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, thank you, MinJi-sunbaenim.” HanDong’s lips managed to split into a sheepish grin. “You don’t have to, really…” Then she caught up with YooHyeon’s hinting head shake, and realised that she should be playing along with that obvious lie. “… But if you don’t mind…”</p><p> </p><p>“’Course I don’t.” MinJi cheerfully confirmed with a nod, hand reaching out to slightly link her arm with the tallest, which literally made the poor girl’s shoulders stiffen in both nervousness and happiness. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked. When will your next self-study period be?”</p><p> </p><p>“This afternoon, the last one…” The Chinese turned toward YuBin after recognising YooHyeon was kind of unavailable to answer any of question she might have. “… just like the other eleventh graders’ class, I think?”</p><p> </p><p>The short-haired nodded. “Which class are you in? I can just drop by and take you to the club. And don’t worry.” She offered another gentle smile when seeing HanDong’s hesitation. “I have to get MinJi-unnie to check my amended script, too, so we’ll be going on the same way.”</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds fun.” GaHyeon succeeded in suppress her laughter, chin lazily leaning on her palm. “Can I tag along? I haven’t had any chance to read your script yet…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I have.” YooHyeon finally broke out of her tree-like mode, shot an annoyingly perky look to the youngest before sticking her tongue out. “But I’m not telling you anything else.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my spoiler queen…” GaHyeon responded with a devilish smirk. “You really think you can keep that mouth of yours shut?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not.” Shrugging, YooHyeon simply admitted. “That’s why I’ll stop talking to you about it now.” Then, she excitedly sat down to look into YuBin’s eyes, and raised her thumb up. “But damn, seriously, it’s so dope. I haven’t recalled reading something that engaging for a long time…”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin, on the other hand, cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Not a very encouraging comment coming from someone figuring out the culprit two scenes after the first death though…”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong and GaHyeon let out a small giggle against the tallest’s pout in disagreement. MinJi was grining as well, her hand now resting on YooHyeon’s stiffening shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“But you know, enjoyment is our top priority.” She winked; dreamy eyes now fixed on YuBin nearly blushing face. “As long as your setting, plot, and characters can entertain, or excite, which is even better, the audiences, it doesn’t really matter if they could figure out the culprit before curtain close. And if just speaking about these things, this script is doing a really good job. What’s left is in our actors and actresses’ hand, which is <em>my </em>responsibility only, so don’t take that from me, will you?”</p><p> </p><p>“My point exactly.” YooHyeon added before narrowing her eyes, a smirk appeared on her lips as she pointed her finger into her quiet best friend’s face. “Aww, you’re blushing.” She stated out the obvious fact the other girl wasn’t really fond of. “And you want to smile <em>so </em>bad, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>It was YuBin’s turn to throw a crumpled tissue at her face. “Shut up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh come on, don’t be shy.” The tall girl dramatically dodged, and skilfully caught it in the middle of the air. “Putting jokes aside, we all know how much effort you put in writing it though.”</p><p> </p><p>This time, her quiet friend didn’t say anything back.</p><p> </p><p>“Now I’m curious.” GaHyeon simply declared, and HanDong couldn’t help but nodding. “That’s it. I’m tagging along even if you said no.”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin raised an eyebrow. “What about your class?”</p><p> </p><p>“I only have algebra, so it’s fine.” The youngest pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. “Prof. Kim loves me so much for scoring more than just satisfaction last term. I can skip one and still catch up in no time.”</p><p> </p><p>“And she’ll still skip it even if the class’s something she can’t catch up.” YooHyeon sighed, patted YuBin’s shoulders, deeply sympathised with her best friend. “<em>What’s the point in studying something you don’t need for your future anyway?</em>” She mimicked GaHyeon’s voice with a tenth-times annoyance than the original version, which earned for herself a knife-sharp glare. “You can’t stop her and you know that, mate.”</p><p> </p><p>Having nothing to deny that fact, the short-haired let out a heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Right, so it’s all set then.” Slightly squeezing YooHyeon’s shoulder, MinJi happily concluded. “Ok, I’ll try to finish all my things, and see you all at three?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe not our YooHyeonnie though.” GaHyeon suddenly said with her signature annoying smirk. “She doesn’t have anything to do at the theatre club, does she?”</p><p> </p><p>“Whu…?” The tallest burst out, a little bit louder than necessary. “But I do! I still need to fix some of the props I broke earlier…”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest stared at her for a second, then obviously struggled controlling herself to not laugh into YooHyeon’s face. Damn, this brat… Heat crawled up to her cheeks again. She knew too well what that damn look meant. Ok, she might not be the best in terms of making hand-made things or anything requiring hand delicacy, but still…</p><p> </p><p>Did this girl really have to tease her in front of MinJi-sunbaenim that much?</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry, I can ask YongHoon to do it for you.” MinJi kindly suggested, then beamed a bright smile to her secretly crying heart. “Thanks for carrying them down earlier. And sorry about that too. I shouldn’t ask a girl like you to struggle with that damn heavy box alone, but I couldn’t find anyone else, and I wasn’t free, either…”</p><p> </p><p>She ended her word with an apologetic smile, but YooHyeon just quickly waved it out.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, it’s ok, I do need to work out a bit sometimes.” She ignored the sight of GaHyeon’s nearly spilling her water in the middle of drinking it, and reminded herself to strangle that brat later on. “And you saved me from cleaning the whole school hallways or writing some stupid lines as a detention, so it’s fine.”</p><p> </p><p>MinJi’s eyes slightly flickered as if she was wondering something, but she didn’t say anything this time.</p><p> </p><p>“But I’m quite interested in how props are made, so… Can I just watch how YongHoon-sunbaenim works around them, too?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl lowered her voice to the minimum volume for no reason. Dang. Why was it so hard to look at her sunbae in the eyes and just… be her? Well, a normal her wouldn’t have a sweaty palm, or a racing heart, or so nervous that she couldn’t sit still, would she?</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, sure, why not?” MinJi generously nodded. “Everyone is welcomed anyway.” Then she stopped for a moment before teasingly added. “… as long as you don’t spoil our play’s plot to the whole school, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then you’re lucky for not making buddies with everybody, eh, spoiler queen?”</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon shot her a death glare. Damn… She swore to God, she could have committed a murder right now, if MinJi-sunbaenim didn’t squeezed her shoulders, <em>again</em>, to grab her attention, put her index finger to her captivate pair of lips, before shooing in a husky voice.</p><p> </p><p>Oh, well, the tall girl suddenly forgot how to breathe, but she didn’t really care.</p><p> </p><p>Breathing and murdering Lee GaHyeon could wait.</p><p> </p><p>“No spoiler until the Spring Fes is over.” Another wink came to her, and YooHyeon’s heart decided to take a huge leap up to her throat. “And I can give you something as a bribing reward, how’s that sound?”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” Swallowing hard, she stupidly repeated with an empty head. “No spoiler. Got it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Cool, then everything’s all good.” MinJi smiled, straightened her back up; attentively looked at all four of them in the eyes. “See ya all later.”</p><p> </p><p>Then catwalked away, as elegantly as a model could.</p><p> </p><p>The table of four suddenly became so quiet, until…</p><p> </p><p>“Wow.” HanDong finally managed to say after looking at a smiling-like-an-idiot YooHyeon with a don’t-know-what-to-comment face. “At least you have good eye. She really is something…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, she is.” The tall girl slowly exhaled.</p><p> </p><p>“You owe me big.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I do.” With lidded dreamy eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“And you’re fucking pathetic.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, I…” YooHyeon’s daydreaming state was crashed in no mercy. “Yah, Lee GaHyeon, what did you just say?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not something new, but anyway, GaHyeon, don’t tease her anymore. Not in public area or in front of the whole school like this, at least.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest seemed to want to protest, but YuBin’s serious expression had silently ordered her to shut up. And she followed her suit. The short-haired might be easy-going sometimes, but if she turned on her serious mode…</p><p> </p><p>God blessed anyone daring to mess with her.</p><p> </p><p>And lucky for GaHyeon, she wasn’t the one YuBin wanted to preach this time.</p><p> </p><p>“I told you already, didn’t I?” The short-haired strictly warned, all the food in front of her had been forgotten. “It’s not wise. You need to know how to control yourself when seeing, meeting, or talking to MinJi-unnie. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you why, do I?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong couldn’t help but noticing the change in the air around them four. The seriousness in YuBin’s voice had turned it into something… denser. Even GaHyeon didn’t dare to blurt out a word. And YooHyeon… The tall girl just uneasily shifted on her chair, remained silent for a long minute before speaking in a mosquito voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, you don’t. I know you’re right, it’s just…” She let out a defeated sigh. “You know it’s hard for me too, right? I’m not very good at holding anything in…”</p><p> </p><p>“I know, and I’m not asking you to change or act like someone you’re not.” YuBin nodded, hand reaching out to patted her friend’s arm, gently reassured. “But try to restraint yourself. Just this one. Please.”</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon just silently nodded, all energy seemed to be drained out in a blink of an eye. Which made the Chinese unconsciously frown a little bit too deep. That was weird. She never thought of YuBin being opposing against girls having feelings for girls, so conservative that she even said it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, GaHyeon being strangely quiet surprised her, too. HanDong couldn’t recall any impression might hint at… this. The way they mentioned at MinJi-sunbaenim and YooHyeon’s crush was casual enough to make her question what the hell was going on now.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, I get it.” Gloomily stating, the tall girl leaned back, slowly drank her milk. “I’ll try. Keep reminding me when I couldn’t then…”</p><p> </p><p>And YooHyeon’s reaction was unexpected as well.</p><p> </p><p>HanDong couldn’t help but looking around. The atmosphere wasn’t dense anymore, but… She couldn’t explain or describe it. It was just… weird. Like something wasn’t right.</p><p> </p><p>Until GaHyeon decided to break the ice.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn it.” She loudly grunted. “Look, normally, I’m just gonna diss the shit out of you, and I’ll strangle you if you tease me with this later on, but…” Then let out a sigh. “I know YuBin-unnie is right. Then again, we can always look at the bright side of the problem, can’t we?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest straightened her back, before reaching out her hand to pat on her sunbae’s back in empathy; her expression was dead serious, which was a rare sight not only for HanDong, but also YooHyeon and YuBin as well.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re annoying.” She started. “… and unbelievingly hopeless against girls, and seriously, the weirdest idiot I’ve ever met in my life.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not exactly the bright side of the probl…”</p><p> </p><p>“But at least, you have us…” Cutting her the tallest’s mutter, she pointed at herself and YuBin. “… here, enduring you as who you are. I’m not sure about Dong-unnie, but anyway, my point is…”</p><p> </p><p>She stopped for a brief moment to inhale, deep.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you fucking dare pretending to be someone else in front of us, or committing something stupid, or I won’t hesitate giving you a one-way ticket heading out of my friend circle, got it?”</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon’s face lightened up with an amazingly bright smile.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s definitely an ‘I love you’ coming from her.” Chuckling, YuBin nodded. “And she’s right. Besides, you won’t be hearing it a lot, so just imprint that in your brain, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve already done that. A long time ago, really…” The tall girl sheepishly admitted, spirit clearly lifted in just a second before turning toward the HanDong. “But hey, can I ask you something? Just to make sure, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Her hesitation and a pressing pair of lips made the Chinese’s eyebrow cocked up.</p><p> </p><p>“I mean, like, do you have any problem with it?”</p><p> </p><p>Her question was something HanDong didn’t expect to receive. Theoretically, she didn’t really have to ask for her opinion. And theoretically, she didn’t have to care about it, so much that her shoulders had visibly tensed up.</p><p> </p><p>And yet, her puppy eyes still headed toward her with some nervousness, and maybe, hope as well.</p><p> </p><p>Theoretically, she didn’t have to. <em>If </em>she hadn’t considered HanDong, who she’d just met for about thirty minutes, a friend, along with GaHyeon and YuBin, she really wouldn’t have to.</p><p> </p><p>This thought lifted the conner of her lips up. Easily, and naturally.</p><p> </p><p>“Why should I?” She simply shrugged, meant every word she said. “You and MinJi-sunbaenim look kinda cute together, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl blushed with a sigh of relief, tension leaving her body as quickly as a blink.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese grinned, a string of admiration slowly grew in her chest. It must be good to easily show her inner thought to the other. It must be good to freely express what she truly felt. But despite being an acceptably good student, she was never able to do just that.</p><p> </p><p>And yet…</p><p> </p><p>YooHyeon’s pinked cheeks, GaHyeon’s restrain at not laughing at her, and YuBin’s understanding and caring look just widen the smile on her lips. Like the chain unconsciously wrapping around her neck had been loosened up somehow.</p><p> </p><p>This group was awesome.</p><p> </p><p>But it didn’t take too long for HanDong’s smile to fade, and the freedom in the air to die down. There was something sticking in her head, and normally, she wouldn’t care enough to be uneasy about it, it was just… Holding it in was never this… hard.</p><p> </p><p>“Look…” She bit her lips, wondering whether she should ask it out, before quickly making up her mind. “I hope you don’t mind, ‘cause I do wanna ask something in return though.”</p><p> </p><p>Three pairs of eyes headed toward her, curiously but patiently waited.</p><p> </p><p>“If you two aren’t against her…” Her head flung at the tall girl. “… having feelings for another girl, then why did you ask her to stop being so obvious about it then?”</p><p> </p><p>To the Chinese’s surprise, the silence remained. There was eye exchanging between the three of them. A train of thoughts, from ‘How much does she know?’ to ‘Should we tell her, or just let her figure it out herself?’, before ended in ‘How should we explain it?’ kind of conversation. And to be honest, she didn’t mind being excluded from that silent discussion that much, but…</p><p> </p><p>Was it just her, or the air was slowly getting heavier?</p><p> </p><p>“So you haven’t heard…” GaHyeon, as expected, was the one decided to break the ice. “But that makes sense though…” The youngest casually shrugged as if it was nothing, but her lower voice told a different story. “You’re new. And I almost forgot that this school is <em>especially</em> good at covering things up…”</p><p> </p><p>That definitely piqued HanDong’s curiosity, which she thought she didn’t actually have one. Not until now. How could she not, by the way? After all, what in the world could a simple high school be afraid to let people know of? What in the world did they have to cover up in front of the public eyes?</p><p> </p><p>“I guess you know our school was upholding to the elite school reputation thingy, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded at YooHyeon’s obvious question. It wasn’t the exact reason why she was here, but part of it was, so of course, she knew.</p><p> </p><p>“We score the highest score in intercity academic tournaments. We are holding the winners’ trophies in most sport championships. We have the highest number of students getting accepted in Art Academies. We have the highest passing rate to most of high-ranking colleges and universities, countrywide.”</p><p> </p><p>Then came a short moment of silence. YuBin briefly stopped to look at HanDong’s eyes, like she was looking for some specific reactions, before continued.</p><p> </p><p>“But everything has a price, doesn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese held her own breath without any self-noticing.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t like the word ‘price’. She didn’t like the sound of it. She didn’t have to be an expert in mind-reading to know this could lead to anything but good.</p><p> </p><p>“To be able to gain such an expensive fame… What price do you think we have to pay?”</p><p> </p><p>That was exactly what she was asking herself. Fame and reputation were precious, yet fragile. Hard to achieved, even harder to maintain. What could be equal to it? What could be sacrificed as an exchange for such valuable and intangible asset? What could be the price someone had to pay to tame fame and possess reputation?</p><p> </p><p>She thought, thought, and thought, and had for herself a vague idea.</p><p> </p><p>For some reasons, this atmosphere reminded her of this morning. Of the hunch she thought was purely a product of her own imagination. The meretriciousness of this school. The confined feeling crawling under her skin right in the first time standing in front of it. The coldness radiating from these thick brick walls, no matter how beautiful the weather could be. It made her shudder all of a sudden, and the Chinese had to muster all the effort she had to not show it out.</p><p> </p><p>But she didn’t say anything. Her idea might not be right. It was just an idea, after all. Reality couldn’t be worse, could it?</p><p> </p><p>“Six students committing suicide by jumping off the roof, in the last one year.” YooHyeon solemnly said, her cheerful features and smiles were nowhere to be seen. “And the list could have gotten longer, I reckon, because I haven’t counted the number of deaths before passing the entrance test.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong froze.</p><p> </p><p>In a single heartbeat, her head dizzied, her tongue tingled, lips parted, but no word could come out.</p><p> </p><p>She was wrong.</p><p> </p><p>Reality <em>was </em>worse.</p><p> </p><p>“Remember what I said about the roof access?” GaHyeon’s eyes aimed at the canteen exit. “We used to be able to get up there. Have some fresh air. Getting a little bit of a leeway after studying non-stop, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese neither nodded nor shook her head. It wasn’t necessary. The youngest didn’t ask to get an answer from her or anyone else.</p><p> </p><p>“But not anymore. After the last suicide’d happened three months ago, they closed it. Locked it down. For good.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong sat still, having no idea what to think or say. Okay, she would admit that she had heard about Korea being famous with strict lifestyle and work, having no work-life balance, and therefore; having one of the highest suicide rates comparing to the rest of the world, but…</p><p> </p><p>Those were just rumours. It was something she only heard of. It wasn’t something she had experienced, or ever wanted to experience before. Gosh, she had never even <em>met</em> someone witnessing something like that, and yet, now…</p><p> </p><p>She met not only one, but three. Seeing someone close to them, seeing someone they’d just met and talked, suddenly…</p><p> </p><p>Despite being ignorant most of the time, the thought still struck her, hard, in the mind, and the chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Six students killing themselves in just… A year?” She finally managed to speak, her voice was weak and strange to her very own ears. “And parents still…?”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon snorted in an unmistakable mocking attitude.</p><p> </p><p>“Reputation does attract lots of love from our parents, don’t you think? Enough to ignore the fact that there were lives actually have lost inside this hell-a-thick of a wall. And considering the fact that you’re here now, our school board did ace excellently in hiding every toxic thing behind the curtain, eh?”</p><p> </p><p>No one said anything back. The youngest, again, wasn’t <em>wrong</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“And the board committees…” HanDong swallowed, didn’t realise her throat was so dry even though she hadn’t said a lot. “… They didn’t do anything about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh they did. Close the fucking access, you see?” This time, she blurted out a curt laugh before saying, voice strangely quiet. “As if people would suddenly stop jumping out of the window by doing just that.”</p><p> </p><p>That left the Chinese speechless. Literally. For the first time in her whole living life, she was completely speechless.</p><p> </p><p>“And before you ask… No, I don’t think they were ever sorry about it.” She stopped for a second before fixing her own wording. “Ah, no, that’s not true, they pretended to be sorry to soothe the parents’ anger, but that’s it.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong threw a questioning look to YuBin. Normally, she would consider the short-haired to be able to stop GaHyeon whenever she crossed the line. But YuBin just silently sat there, with no intention to stop the youngest from stating her own opinion.</p><p> </p><p>“I know you’re upset, but…” YooHyeon patted on the youngest stiffened shoulders. “Calm down. Speaking from an outsider point of view, we can never know what actually ran through their minds, can’t we?”</p><p> </p><p>“As if.” Another snort came right at the tallest’s face. “If they’d been <em>that </em>sorry, they wouldn’t have blamed those poor kids, would they?”</p><p> </p><p>And YooHyeon couldn’t say anything, while YuBin just silently told her to let it be by a head shake.</p><p> </p><p>“And do you know what were those poor kids blamed for?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong didn’t react. She knew. She just couldn’t admit it.</p><p> </p><p>“For being incompetent.”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon’s voice went deeper, but the spark in her eyes was ignited into a burning fire of furious.</p><p> </p><p>“For being weak. They couldn’t keep it up, and it was their damn fault for not being able to keep it up. Just like pebble stones. Existing only to glorify the light of shining gems that could, so there’s no reason for anybody to mourn for their deaths, at all.”</p><p> </p><p>YuBin had to put a hand on her shoulders, gently squeezed them to stop the girl from being carried away by her own waves of emotion, while YooHyeon just let out a heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“It was tough. Studying, achievements, pressure, and expectations.” The short-haired looked into HanDong’s blankly shocking eyes. “Not everybody can find and be brave enough to follow their own pace. If you don’t, then you have two choices: putting everything you have to not being swallowed, or just being swallowed as how things crazily went. The pressure really is something…”</p><p> </p><p>“Again with those studying pressure bullshits.” Rolling her eyes, GaHyeon just sarcastically cut her off. “Can’t just admit that those poor souls killed themselves because of their shitty way of thinking, can they? Did any of the teachers or their classmates ever cared about them?”</p><p> </p><p>“I get what you’re saying.” YuBin simply admitted. “But those are not totally bullshits, and you know that, too. You just don’t want to…”</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, stress could be the reason.” Deeply sighing, the youngest reluctantly nodded. “One of the <em>reasons</em>, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong was pulled out of her trance a little bit harder than she could expect. The vague idea started to become much clearer when she connected all the dots she had in hand until now. The feeling she had. The rumour she heard. The look on her classmates’ faces. The story of GaHyeon, YuBin, and YooHyeon. The mindset of the board committees. And the way the tall girl was warned…</p><p> </p><p>There was one answer could explain for all of that.</p><p> </p><p>“Was there…” She licked her dry lips. “… Was there any case involving in being bullied? Because of the student’s sexual orientation?”</p><p> </p><p>Three pairs of eyes aimed at her, and even though she wasn’t sure what emotions lying in those three complicated looks, she knew that they had indirectly confirmed what she’d just asked. It wasn’t hard to understand though. Praising and upholding to something good was merely a tip of an iceberg. In order to holding into those so called ‘values’, sometimes, either ignoring, or trampling on something labelled as ‘bad’ were the ‘right’ things to do.</p><p> </p><p>And besides low ranking and inappropriate conducts, sexual orientation could pretty much be considered ‘bad’ in this conservative country.</p><p> </p><p>Yeah. Considered. But whether those ‘bad’ things were really bad…</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t think there would be anyone could ever confirm.</p><p> </p><p>This was ridiculous.</p><p> </p><p>But at least, at this point, after hearing all of this, HanDong didn’t think she could ever be surprised or speechless at anything ever again. True to her thought, her expression didn’t change much when YooHyeon quietly nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“The last suicide.” The look in her eyes was strangely unreadable. “It happened a few days after she’d been beaten and humiliated because there were rumours about her loving another girl before transferring here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Let me guess.” The Chinese inhaled. “No one stood up for her when she…”</p><p> </p><p>And stopped. Immediately, when she realised GaHyeon looked like she was on the edge of crying anytime when hearing those words. Her normally sarcastic eyes were red. And her signature smirk was gone.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it. She was loosening herself a little bit too much around them.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, GaHyeon, I wasn’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not your fault.” Blinking to hold her emotions inside, the youngest casually waved her off, but her voice was so quiet, as if she wasn’t talking to anyone but herself. “I wasn’t there anyway. Neither were YuBin-unnie and this idiot puppy, so technically, we can’t do anything even if we want to.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese couldn’t miss the tense she was using. Simple present. Not simple past.</p><p> </p><p>“A friend of yours?”</p><p> </p><p>“Barely.” GaHyeon forced out a small smile when YooHyeon squeezed her hand, and YuBin gently patted her back in comfort. “I only met her once or twice. Never actually talked about anything but some brief greetings on the hallway, but watching her being treated like that through a fucking video posted on the school forums still hit hard, I guess…”</p><p> </p><p>So, HanDong was proven wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“I told you not to already.” YuBin frowned, hard. “Just ignore that vid and those stupid comments. You can’t change people’s mindset if they don’t want to change, no matter how reasonable you could be.”</p><p> </p><p>That thing was being filmed? And publicly posted?</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t help myself.” The youngest muttered. “Spouting out some shits like how she deserved it… Look, I know I shouldn’t, it’s just…”</p><p> </p><p>A silent scream of helpless was all HanDong could hear.</p><p> </p><p>Once again, she was still be able to be speechlessly baffled. What on earth did she just get herself into? Even in her wildest dreams… She had never expected any of this.</p><p> </p><p>And if a nearly stranger could affect GaHyeon that much…</p><p> </p><p>She really couldn’t imagine how this little girl would be if YooHyeon was trapped in that kind of situation.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, at least you don’t have to worry about me, GaHyeon-ah.” YooHyeon cracked up a reassured grin. “I promise, I won’t be doing anything stupid…” She rethought for a moment. “Ok, that might be a little bit too hard, ‘cause you know me, I’m always doing some not so smart things, but you get what I’m saying, right?”</p><p> </p><p>HanDong looked at the giant-dwarf pair with mixed feelings. True, everything she was told up to this point was a big no no. She hated every bit of it. She never wanted to be a part of it, but…</p><p> </p><p>At least, what she was observing and experiencing right here, right now, wasn’t too bad.</p><p> </p><p>“Try me if you dare.” The youngest shot a serious glare to her sunbae. “I’ll strangle you in your death, mark my word.”</p><p> </p><p>“Now that’s the GaHyeon we’ve always known.” YuBin gently smiled. “Welcome back, kiddo.”</p><p> </p><p>And yeah. HanDong couldn’t help but giving out a small smile. This, too.</p><p> </p><p>“So yeah, elite school my ass. Not that I figured out the name, but I prefer it to any other names glued to this inhuman place.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese cocked her eyebrow, curiously waited.</p><p> </p><p>“Jung Dok High School.”</p><p> </p><p>GaHyeon dramatically announced like an influential politician.</p><p> </p><p>“The fucking famous school… of the roof-jumpers.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope I'm not estimating wrongly, but it might take me one or two more chapters till the first case happened =)))</p><p>And yup, I'm tired of myself being dragging things for so long, too LOL. But writing the overall background, especially this background about DC dissing each other is fun... (or so I hope) And since I want to be fair, background is something I can't overlook at, so please, bear with me until the end ^^</p><p>Thank you for your support. As always, kudos and comments are always welcome. Until next time~</p><p>Oh, I kinda forgot, so apology for whoever mistaken this as an update: Here's my Curious Cat https://curiouscat.qa/dzung_10892</p><p>And Twitter https://twitter.com/dzung_10892</p><p>I was quite afraid to get it online, 'cause if no one ask anything then it would be quite... sad LOL. But anyway, I guess you'll get what I meant. Or if not, it's still fine :"&gt;</p><p>See ya.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. “Under the moonlight no sinners can hide…”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A little bit of Minji. A little bit of Jiyoo. And things are starting to get heated.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Right, so, before we start, just a little reminder that I hold no grudge or hate toward KARD Jiwoo :( I support them and their music, and this Jiwoo is totally different from the legit Jiwoo on stage :( </p><p>Other than that, still old excuses of being a non-native speaker, I hope you'll excuse my grammar and vocab mistakes, and enjoy this chapter after a quite long gap :"&gt;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In most people’s eyes, Minji was undoubtedly confident. On class, off class. On stage, off stage. That wasn’t because she didn’t have any self-doubts. Before being an elite student, she was, first and foremost, a human being. She, too, doubted. She, too, was uncertain. She, too, struggled. Just like almost everybody else in this world.</p><p> </p><p>And it wasn’t because she tried to hide them too deep for everyone to find out about.</p><p> </p><p>Her confidence came from another fact. A simple one, indeed.</p><p> </p><p>That even if she spoke about it, no one was actually listened to her doubts.</p><p> </p><p>“But you’re <em>the</em> Kim Minji.” They’d said. “You’ll get over it eventually.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji would just smile, and nod. At first, she had been disappointed. But then, it’d finally came to a point that she had known. Understood. And accepted.</p><p> </p><p>They didn’t want an uncertain Kim Minji. They wanted a strong and confident, bold yet creative Kim Minji. She wasn’t allowed to fail. She wasn’t allowed to be weak. She wasn’t allowed to be confused. She wasn’t allowed to be lost.</p><p> </p><p>She wasn’t allowed to be her.</p><p> </p><p>So Minji just learnt how to hide all of it. Her struggles at sleepless nights. Her sighs of relief after succeeding in something. Her clammy palms before each and every exam. Her nervous shivering because of stage panic. Everything wasn’t labelled as “Things Kim Minji can do”.</p><p> </p><p>And just like what animals do to survive, she, too, adapted to that kind of lifestyle.</p><p> </p><p>If considering all of this was a grand stage, it was just another act, after all.</p><p> </p><p>But of all the things Minji had been doubting about herself and capabilities, detouring around her beloved club was never one.</p><p> </p><p>Not until today.</p><p> </p><p>She threw a glance to her back, where Yubin and Gahyeon were eagerly chatting about the newly amended script for the incoming Spring Festival play. That was one of the rare moments she could see her calm-to-an-uninterested-level hoobae talking that much; eyes glittered with pure joy and interest. And she couldn’t help but smiling a little. Looking at them being so naïve, looking at them being true to themselves made she felt comfortable, even though she didn’t really know why. But anyway. They weren’t the one she had to worry about now.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes shifted to the left, observing the girl she should pay a little bit more attention to. Handong, the new transfer, was remaining quiet most of the time she’d talked. She’d talked about quite lots of interesting things. Like props. Like costumes. Like sound effects. Like light effects. Like set designing. Like theatre hierarchy. Like lots and lots of works and efforts of hidden personnel behind the scene. Of course, this club wasn’t an actual theatre, but still. She’d talked about a professional one, and she was pretty sure it was interesting enough, even for a newbie having completely no idea about stage to be able to enjoy.</p><p> </p><p>Then yet, none of them could really attract the Chinese’s interest. She was spacing out, Minji was able to notice. But at least, this girl didn’t even attempt to pretend that she was listening.</p><p> </p><p>“So… How’s your first day been?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong eventually looked up, spent around a second to glance at her eyes, before shily averted to look at somewhere else but them. “It’s okay, I guess? Not so many things happened…”</p><p> </p><p>Eyeing the bruise on the Chinese’s forehead, Minji kept the gentle smile on her lips, decided to say nothing about her hoobae’s obvious lie. For someone’s been acting for most of the time in her life, she definitely could easily find out who was not telling the truth. Yet again, she also knew that people had reasons to act, no matter if it was on or off-stage. Besides…</p><p> </p><p>No need to expose each and every lie she’d been listening to, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“Then do you mind if we take a small break?” Sympathetically nodding her head, Minji sat down to one of the theatre seats, hand patted on the empty one next to her, gesturing Handong to follow her suit. “I’ve just come back from a long holiday, yet the workload at the club and studying are killing me already…”</p><p> </p><p>The girl seemed to be surprised, but she had reasons to anyway. Minji wasn’t tired, not at all. She was still energetic, and if there was something the Chinese couldn’t miss, it would be her sunbae’s appeared-to-be-endless energy, especially when it came to theatre and acting.</p><p> </p><p>Well, Minji still grinned, wasn’t afraid to show that she didn’t mean every word she said. She didn’t need a break, that was true. But there was somebody definitely needing one, that was also true.</p><p> </p><p>So, her smile just broadened when Handong shily smiled back, more genuinely this time, and nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, sunbae-nim.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re doing me a favour, so don’t be.” She waved it off, made sure that there was enough space for Yubin and Gahyeon as well, watching her new hoobae for a few minutes before continuing. “I hope I didn’t bore you too much when blabbing about acting and stage. It’s just something I can’t keep my mouth shut, so…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no, it was interesting.” Now she could see Handong’s honesty. “I didn’t know that there are <em>that</em> many things standing behind a play’s success. Like, costumes should be in a different colour to avoid being changed under the stage light? Or the props might appear to be shiny, but actually they are not allowed to reflect any kind of light to not distract the audiences? Really, I had completely no idea. And I’m not lying, sunbae-nim. It’s fascinating.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji titled her head. “But…?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl stared at her for a while, considered something, before sighing.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry sunbae-nim, I lied. First school day in a foreign country really is something. There’s a lot to wrap my head around, I guess…”</p><p> </p><p>Instead of scolding her for not telling the truth, she just nodded, totally understood. Seeing this girl reminded her of her first day coming to Jung Dok. too. It was hard, being under all kind of pressures. Classes were tough. Classmates were tough. Club activities were tough. Expectation was tough. And self-proving wasn’t any easier.</p><p> </p><p>Here, she had to be either the best, or nothing at all.</p><p> </p><p>Pretty cruel, if she had to be honest, but she, just like everybody else, couldn’t do anything about it.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok, I figured.” Minji nonchalantly shrugged, couldn’t help but noticing Yubin and Gahyeon had stopped their little chit chat to listen to what she was going to say. “And I get it.” Placing a hand on Handong’s palm, she searched for her gaze, and returned it with a straight and genuine one. “It’s normal to be tired of all this if you’re not used to, so don’t be sorry, alright? It’s not your fault, after all.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl neither nodded nor shook her head. She didn’t even smile. But the way she returned Minji’s look was easy to interpret. Something flickered in her eyes, and Minji was pretty sure that the girl was touched. She just didn’t know how to show it out by words, which the elder didn’t really mind.</p><p> </p><p>So she smiled at her, nodded, and withdraw her hand from the other’s. That was more than enough for a little push. This girl might look fragile, but somehow, unlike some people she’d met during her study here, Minji could never imagine her being broken beyond fixed. Maybe because of her well-hidden inner strength. Or maybe because she could sense Yubin and Gahyeon’s protective eyes sticking on this girl since their conversation took another turn to something else rather than just theatre stuffs.</p><p> </p><p>She would be more than just fine, Minji reckoned.</p><p> </p><p>“And you don’t really have to make up your mind.” She cheerily said, flung her head at the main stage, where the dance club was busy preparing for their stage practice before her club could use. “For now, just sit back, and relaxed. Our school’s dance club performances are really good…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, there you are.” A cheerful voice suddenly called out from behind, conveniently interrupted her enthusiastic introduction in perfect-time. “I’ve been looking for you for a while…”</p><p> </p><p>The eldest turned around. Her eyes immediately caught the somehow shy but cute smile of Yoohyeon, who was running toward her and the other with a slightly pinked cheek, then halted for a few second before carefully dropping her tall body to the empty seat next to Yubin.</p><p> </p><p>The corner of Minji’s lips automatically curled up. To be honest, it was hard to not to. This tall girl simply had that aura and power to lift the mood of everybody up. No one could resist a cutie not-so-little puppy, couldn’t they?</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you here?” Except for her normally quiet hoobae, maybe. She was asking in a half surprising tone, clearly didn’t expect to meet her friend this soon. “I thought you’re still fixing those props with Yonghoon-sunbaenim… Are those that easy to fix?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl’s cheeks were slowly dyed in pink shade, and Minji was pretty sure that wasn’t because she’d just run here.</p><p> </p><p>“Getting shooed away <em>again</em>, I see.” Smirking, Gahyeon nodded. “To be honest, I did think you would get your ass kicked, but still later than this. Don’t you tell me…”</p><p> </p><p>Then, her eyes shifted to land on Minji with tons of hidden meanings, which made her slightly shuffled in uneasiness. But lucky for her, the youngest didn’t hold that gaze for long. No, thanks to Yubin reminding eyes, and a short conversation or warning Minji wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the details or not.</p><p> </p><p>“But it was harddddd…” Whining, Yoohyeon pouted, her head rested on her friend’s shoulder, reasonably gave out an unquestionable excuse. “Seriously, I mean, I know it’s hard, but never expect it to be that hard though…”</p><p> </p><p>“There, there.” Yubin patted her head, the scene looked extremely like an owner comforting her pet. “You did your best, I’m sure. And any messes over there were absolutely unintentional.”</p><p> </p><p>But Yoohyeon, although enjoying the pat, deeply frowned at those word. “I didn’t say I made any mess…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, didn’t you?” Handong suddenly blurted in surprise, conveniently reminded Minji of her appearance right next to her left. “Oh, sorry…” She quickly added after realising her pure honesty had frozen three out of five people sitting here. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feeling or anything…”</p><p> </p><p>Her explanation was drowned in Gahyeon’s laughter, and Minji couldn’t blame her for that. Even Yubin and she couldn’t help but chuckling along. Yoohyeon seemed to be rooted to the ground, eyes wide-opened, mouth slightly parted, a living meme of not knowing which emotion she should show on her face.</p><p> </p><p>Minji swore to God, she didn’t want to laugh, no. She wanted to save her some faces. But yeah…</p><p> </p><p>Her giggle, along with the others’, turned into a laugh anyway.</p><p> </p><p>And their laughs could have lasted longer, if there weren’t an emotionless voice pulled all of them back to reality.</p><p> </p><p>“I was wondering who would be impolite enough to make such a noisy mess in public areas, but…”</p><p> </p><p>All five of them automatically turned around. The newly coming girl stood in front of Minji in her carefully ironed uniform, formally knotted green tie, with a backpack carried on her back, and a silver pair of Bose headphones hanging on her elegant neck. Hair tidily tied up in a ponytail, she wasn’t stunningly beautiful, to be honest. But definitely attractive. Or impressive, to be exact, with fierceness, cold, and arrogant confidence in her dark brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Like she could kill someone just by the mere look.</p><p> </p><p>Their laughter died down. The atmosphere was weirdly stuffy in just a single heartbeat.</p><p> </p><p>“Minji-sunbaenim… And Lee Yubin. An unpleasant surprise, I see.” She slowly said, her gaze glanced at Gahyeon and Yoohyeon. “I can understand if it’s just these… twos, but…” Before landing on Minji’s nearly knitted eyebrows. “Funny… Of all people, I had thought you guys would be more self-aware than this.”</p><p> </p><p>In the corner of her eyes, the eldest could see Yubin frowning in displease, while Gahyeon was ready to stand up and snap back, which was understandable. No one could mistake what she’d wanted to call her and her best friend, but chose to use a different phrase instead.</p><p> </p><p>Throwing the trigger to the other, so she didn’t have to do the dirty job, Jeon Jiwoo’s sharpness hadn’t gone rusty yet. Under normal circumstances, Minji might just wait and see, but…</p><p> </p><p>She could easily catch the familiar sight of Gain-seonsaengnim instructing her dance club members to prepare for their practice on the main stage, which wasn’t too far away from this potential mess.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, we just got carried away.” Shaking her head at the youngest, she turned toward the complainer; lips painted out an apologetic smile. “But don’t be too harsh on us, Jiwoo-ah. We all need a little laugh in our lives, don’t we? The dance club haven’t started their practice yet, I’m sure Gain-seonsaengnim wouldn’t mind that much though…”</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo’s features became unreadable, but at least, she could acknowledge her hidden message. No matter how much the committee treasured her talent, school rule number one remained the same: do not make a mess in front of a teacher’s supervision.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine. But what are you doing here at this time? Isn’t your rehearsal registered in an hour?” Her eyes now dropped on the Chinese girl sitting next to the eldest. “And who do we have here? New student?”</p><p> </p><p>In the corner of her eyes, Minji could see Gahyeon was even more upset, her eyes squinted, her shoulders had been visibly stiffening. But she couldn’t blame the young girl. The emotionlessness in her voice definitely wasn’t the most welcoming and cheerful voice in the world. In fact, it was like a thin blanket indifferently covering on whatever she was hiding inside. Hard to read, cold, and somehow, harsh.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, she’s new.” The eldest politely smiled. “Just let her see how good our dance club is while waiting for our turn. Besides, I don’t think the dance club cares if there’s a few more audiences…” Tilting her head, she easily changed the subject. “How about you? Here to cheer for Chanmi?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong slightly flinched at the mention of the dance club member, but Minji pretended to not notice anything. She looked into the wild pair of eyes never left the Chinese’s, couldn’t help but hoping this wild girl wouldn’t notice it either.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, even if Jiwoo had, she didn’t show it out.</p><p> </p><p>“And to make sure that idiot won’t hurt herself because of over-practice.” Casually shrugging, she grinned; her eye corners remained rigid. “There’ll be scouting teams and spectators from all art colleges and academies for this Spring Fes, so yeah, she’s kinda nervous over something she shouldn’t be…”</p><p> </p><p>“And aren’t you nervous, sunbae-nim?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon blurted, stressed as hard as she could on the formal suffix, which made Yubin, after being stunned for less than a second, have to dig her elbow into the youngest’s rib as a reminder. But Minji could see it didn’t work as effectively as she expected. Fearlessly and stubbornly, Gahyeon stared straight through Jiwoo’s unmoving eye corners, refused to back down even a little.</p><p> </p><p>“You must be very confident in your songs, right? But that makes sense. You <em>are </em>our school’s precious treasure, <em>the </em>genius composer only appearing every two or three years, after all.”</p><p> </p><p>The other girl’s facial features remained unfaltering.</p><p> </p><p>“And it’s so kind of you to care so much for your beloved friend rather than being scared that your little masterpiece would get ruined by her might-be-poor performance, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Facing this obvious mock, Jiwoo’s smile slightly wilted, and Minji had to admit, what Gahyeon said was kinda mean. And despite her inappropriate attitude, she neither say anything, nor intent to say anything. She wasn’t that close to the young girl to give her a lecture, but anyway…</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeon.” Yubin warned, her voice dangerously lowered. “That’s enough.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest was on the verge of protesting, but she immediately chickened out when meeting her best friend’s eyes. Ironically, just like Jiwoo, now, it was her turn to apply school rule number one to her own conduct. So reluctantly, she took a bow. “Sorry.” <em>‘For telling the truth.’ </em>seemed like something she wanted to say, but decided to keep it in. “I crossed the line, sunbae-nim. I hope you don’t mind.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok.” Surprisingly calm, Jiwoo drily countered. “You being such a spoiled brat is something I’ve already known for a long time, and although this is just coincident, you’re not the one I came to see anyway.” Then, ignoring the youngest’s attempt to retort, she turned toward Minji and Yubin with her arms crossed; a hint of frustration and impatience flashed in her dark pupils. “Right timing, I was looking for you guys. About the last scene, please, tell me you have decided which one to use. I need to finish these remaining soundtracks for your play before moving on to my next projects, is that too much to ask for?”</p><p> </p><p>“For you?” Yoohyeon blurted out a mutter. “Everything is…”</p><p> </p><p>Minji had to muster all the efforts she had to not laugh out loud, which didn’t really succeed. Her laugh was clumsily turned into a fake cough, and did nothing than earning her a bunch of questioning looks.</p><p> </p><p>Well, Minji always had a weird sense of humour at the most improper time of her life.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, everything’s all good now.” Ignoring her friend dry and true comment, Yubin nodded, recalled her unexpectedly smooth discussion she had had with Minji earlier. “And to answer your question, yes, we have. We’re both happy with it this time, so I just need to retype, and you’ll have a general idea to do something with your current demo version. Which shouldn’t be too much of an amendment.” She quickly added before the other could ask. “Tonight’s the latest, guaranteed.”</p><p> </p><p>Jiwoo’s eyes squinted. “It’s not the first time I heard you said that.”</p><p> </p><p>“It will be.” Minji finally decided to interrupt. “Sorry, Jiwoo, that was my fault. Couldn’t get rid of the feeling we can do better than that. You know how important the last scene is to a whole play, right? I just wanted to make sure…”</p><p> </p><p>“… That it’s meaningful enough, it’s touching enough, or impressive enough to make the play, no, <em>your</em> play unforgettable.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger girl immediately finished her words in the same emotionless tone, and the elder girl didn’t really know how to reply to such an appeared-to-be-supportive-but-not-exactly statement of hers. And she didn’t think anyone could. Unofficial confrontations like this were the worst. It agitated her, and yet, didn’t give her a single chance to snap back with anything but forced smiles and dead silence.</p><p> </p><p>Not that she really wanted to snap back, anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“But after all, to achieve that effects on audiences, you’ll still have to rely on me and my soundtracks, won’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji didn’t oppose to it. To some extent, what Jiwoo’d just said wasn’t totally wrong. The same scene play in different background music <em>did </em>bring out different feelings. Either nailed it or killed it, so to speak. And her talent was the real deal. No one, no matter how much they hated her, could ever deny it. This was exactly one of the reasons why she still needed this so-called genius on her team, even though, except Hongbin, none of her other club members could really handle this girl’s mood swing and attitude.</p><p> </p><p>“And if you really get that, why can’t you just let me have more time to perfect your play?”</p><p> </p><p>The eldest frowned; gaze shifted until it found Yubin’s familiar face, couldn’t help but recalling seeing that small girl’s back in front of a bunch of unsatisfied crumpled hand-written scripts. And there was Yonghoon, silently worked on props and sets. There was Seungyeon, instead of just helping to supervise the movements of the play, had agreed to fill in the space left by a broken-ankle Doyeon during a practice night.</p><p> </p><p>And Seonghwa, Youngjo, Seunghee, and Yujin, despite being supporting roles, devoted themselves to the act.</p><p> </p><p>And Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim, who was their supervisor since the very beginning.</p><p> </p><p>There definitely was more than just that.</p><p> </p><p>“You and your useless perfectionism, Minji-sunbaenim…” Adjusting the headphones on her neck, the girl gave out a smile, a vague string of mock barely tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Something I can never get myself to understand…”</p><p> </p><p>“And that petty problem will not be the last thing you don’t have any clue with, unfortunately.”</p><p> </p><p>Jiwoo’s hands froze. In fact, her whole body and facial features just stopped working as soon as the smile on Minji’s face disappeared in a single heartbeat. This was the first time she witnessed her club leader dropping all her friendliness and cheesiness she’d been always wearing since forever. She couldn’t even recall if there had ever been a time when Minji’s eyes were <em>this </em>stony, cold, and strict.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, Jiwoo could never see through Minji’s reluctance, uncertainty, and worries hidden very well behind her icy face. The eldest’d never been a fan of stepping up. If possible, she always prioritised avoiding conflicts and quarrels of all type. But she also knew there would be a time like this. When compromising was no longer an option, and she, just like Peggy Carter in Captain America once said, had to stand like a tree, and do whatever she had to do, no matter how much she didn’t want to.</p><p> </p><p>And so she stood up. Firmly, and steadily, overwhelmed Jeon Jiwoo with both her height and aura, emotionlessly said.</p><p> </p><p>“As much as I appreciate your hard work, Jiwoo, I will never allow anybody putting themselves above the whole team’s efforts and success, not to mention denying the others’ abilities, hard work and contribution, to act as they wish.”</p><p> </p><p>Jiwoo froze to her spot.</p><p> </p><p>“If you want to be the one, then suit yourself. But also prepare that no matter how influent your family is, how good you are, or how much your recent works was praised by the others, I won’t hesitate in scratching your name off our club member list, and looking for another composer no matter how late it is. Or even if we have to use free demos and samples on the Internet, so be it. We do need you, but you also need us to attract the scouts’ attention to create your beloved portfolio. That’s why you’re here working <em>with </em>us, don’t forget it.”</p><p> </p><p>Just like she’d been slapped in the face. Which was true to some extent. Minji didn’t like doing it, didn’t mean she wasn’t good at it. In fact, she was an expert at hurting people with words alone.</p><p> </p><p>“Since I didn’t give you any warnings before, so consider this as your first.” Imagining herself facing a board committee, in a situation she wasn’t allowed to back down and be vulnerable, she looked straight into Jiwoo’s eyes, poured every ounce of arrogance into this act. “Don’t let me see such behaviour ever again. And apologise to Yubin. Now.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence, but it didn’t take Jiwoo too long to realise that disobeying a current Minji wasn’t even wise to the least. “Sorry, Lee-hoobaenim.” She muttered, unapologetic, the hate and disgust in her eyes were unmistakeable. “I didn’t mean to cause more…”</p><p> </p><p>The music suddenly started, saved both Jiwoo from lying, and Minji from hearing those obvious lies of hers. The air around them turned from stoic cold to a solemn one in just a blink. Pipe organ. A distinctive sound no one could confuse it with any other instrument.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s time.” Jiwoo slightly titled her head into a very slight bow. “I have to go. The dance club should start their practice now. See you later.”</p><p> </p><p>Then left without letting any of the fives said anything back. No one actually complained about it, because…</p><p> </p><p>“Or not.” Speaking for everyone else, Gahyeon muttered right at the time the music was halted. “That fucking arrogant bitch… I wish I could strangle her…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.” Yoohyeon slightly shook her head. “With that attitude? Even that super dope pipe organ intro, her stupid anxiety and the fact that she spends her whole youth in the school studio working with that MIDI and making music can’t save her from being such a bitch.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s eyebrows furrowed, and she could see that just like her, Handong was tilting her head in confusion, too. But they didn’t really have time to ask, because the music was turned on, once again, drowning the whole theatre into a weirdly holy kind of atmosphere. Minji just simply forgot what she wanted to ask. She liked the sound of pipe organ. Especially when it was playing in such fierce and accumulating way like this.</p><p> </p><p>Pipe organ was often played in churches. Churches often gave out a solemn to a strict level of atmosphere. Organised. Clean. In order. Chained. Restrained. Tamed. Controlled. The sound of the instrument itself reminded her of all that feeling. But this rhythm? This tempo?</p><p> </p><p>Felt like there was chaos lying underneath. Patiently waiting. And ready to break free. Anytime. Anywhere. An interesting contrast. The exact hint for a guilty pleasure.</p><p> </p><p>Then the song started. Chami started to sing and dance. Breathy voice was fitted for this sexy concept. Her body line and movement were chef kisses. Elegant. Smooth. Confident. Tempting. Seductive. At least, at this moment, she could deliver the overall feeling of the song. Where Eve wasn’t an innocent woman. She wasn’t tempted because of that evil serpent mentioned in the holy Bible. The serpent was hers. Her inner desire. Of self-recognition. Of physical sensation. Of free will. To do whatever her heart wanted and desired, without being controlled, concealed or held back.</p><p> </p><p>Such an admirable bravery. Her inner fear was very well covered.</p><p> </p><p>And yet…</p><p> </p><p>Music abruptly stopped. Mood was killed in, literally, a single note.</p><p> </p><p>On the stage, Chanmi seemed confused, before sheepishly standing up from her bending composition. She blinked at her audiences, which were basically a few of her club members, her instructor, Gain-seonsaengnim, and her best friend, Jeon Jiwoo.</p><p> </p><p>Her scared gaze stopped at her best friend told Minji who was the one ordered to stop the music.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s with that <em>anxiety</em>, Chanmi?” Jiwoo coldly asked from her seat. “Didn’t I tell you already? She’s free. She’s fierce. She’s confident. She’s strong. How on earth can I feel your fear leaking from the stage to way down here? Do you even understand what that song is all about?”</p><p> </p><p>That hit Minji. Harder than she ever thought it could.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry guys.” She calmly said, hoped that they wouldn’t see anything else beneath her smile. “Just need to go to the toilet for a wee while.”</p><p> </p><p>She noticed Handong was staring at her. She didn’t have enough time to look at Yubin, Gahyeon, and Yoohyeon’s reaction to make sure they wouldn’t feel anything weird happened.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever they felt, she could deal with it later on.</p><p>-------------------------------------</p><p>If Yoohyeon had to say something about herself, she would use the word ‘dumb’. Intelligently speaking, her grades weren’t the best in an average class, her pranks on Taeyeon-unnie, either hadn’t worked, or had been exposed right in the beginning. Emotionally speaking, she was completely obliviated with other’s feelings and stuffs. <em>“Just like your unnie, but it’s ok. You’re her sister, and she raised you, after all.” </em>But even Yuri-unnie’s assurance didn’t make her feel that much better about herself.</p><p> </p><p>So yeah. She was dumb. But at least…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“You’re not that much of a nuisance, and Yeonnie definitely loves you more than she loves me, so don’t flatter yourself, pups.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Her unnie didn’t mind having a dumb younger sibling. She also imprinted the fact that her friends, like, true friends that she could always count on never really minded cleaning her mess no matter how much they complained about it. And she didn’t really dislike herself that much, because well, she wanted to change to be a better her. And she was getting up on her ass to actually do something to change, even though it might not be so obvious and visible.</p><p> </p><p>Not much. But enough to make a move when Minji-sunbaenim was heading toward the girl’s toilet.</p><p> </p><p>Something wasn’t right. Her smile wasn’t right. She could confidently confirm that, simply because she had been watching the elder girl whenever she could. She couldn’t recall when was the last time her smile looked sad. She couldn’t recall when was the last time her smile looked tired. Ok, her memory was terrible, but…</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t imagine her forgetting anytime Minji-sunbaenim was like this.</p><p> </p><p>So, spending no time on thinking twice or giving her friends another look, she stood up, and followed her suit. Luckily, the girl wasn’t hard to find. There was only one quiet toilet on the way she was heading to anyway.</p><p> </p><p>But at the moment she placed her hand on the handle, Yoohyeon suddenly hesitated.</p><p> </p><p>The days she spent on watching the elder girl let her know three things.</p><p> </p><p>One, Minji-sunbaenim was always there for anyone needing help. Just like the way she came to her life. Listening to her story, stretching her arm to hold Yoohyeon’s hand, telling her that she deserved to be sad when she was trying to not to. So strong, yet so gentle, so reliable that it made her chest tremble, melted her heart, and allowed her to break down for a brief moment, before collecting herself and got back on her feet.</p><p> </p><p>She fell for her at that exact moment.</p><p> </p><p>And being a nice person led to something else. The second thing Yoohyeon was able to notice was that she <em>hated</em> confrontations. Most of the time she could handle it in a peaceful way, and would always opt for it first. And most of the time, it worked. Her warm smiles and reasonable logics were her ultimate powerful tools, after all. But sometimes, when it came to the last confrontations with that bitch Jeon Jiwoo…</p><p> </p><p>No one liked to do things they didn’t want to, right? And yes, Yoohyeon might not really understand why. She thought Minji was legit at that time, when she stood up for Yubin, and actually protected her to some extent. She could only use that logic to explain for Minji’s down mood without truly sympathising with the elder girl, but anyway. How bad could she feel when facing such a situation, if in her very heart, that wasn’t something she wanted to do?</p><p> </p><p>And here it came to fact number three.</p><p> </p><p>Despite being friendly and cheery, spending her whole day smiling, helping, and running the club, she was all by herself.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was no exception at receiving her help. And Yoohyeon was also no exception at being close enough to be called a friend. Minji was with anyone and everyone. She wasn’t afraid of skinships, she wasn’t always alone, she wasn’t giving out a distant and lonely vibe even, but it was hard to notice her being with the same person at different timings.</p><p> </p><p>And she was watching her. Like, a lot.</p><p> </p><p>That was when she started to wonder.</p><p> </p><p>In case like this, when she wasn’t feeling too well…</p><p> </p><p>Who would be there for her to lean on?</p><p> </p><p>To be honest, Yoohyeon wouldn’t mind doing it. In fact, she longed for being someone Minji-sunbaenim could lean on, but…</p><p> </p><p>Was she the one? Could she even be someone she would lean on? Or would she just put more pressure on her shoulders, and become another apathetic person begging her to get back in the game when she didn’t really want to?</p><p> </p><p>Yet again, it didn’t take her more than two seconds to throw that thought to the back of her head.</p><p> </p><p>She never saw her with anyone. Which meant <em>everyone</em> left, didn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>It wouldn’t be her. She couldn’t stand that she was one of those ignorant people passing by her life. She just simply couldn’t. So she pressed the handle down, gave it a good push, and took a really good look at the girl standing in front of the mirror, right here, right now.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoohyeonie?” Minji-sunbaenim asked, baffled with a hint of tired that she didn’t have time to properly hide away. “Do you want to use the toilet too?”</p><p> </p><p>Her question made the tall girl halted. Ok, she didn’t come here for a stupid toilet. She definitely didn’t come here to collect herself. She wanted to comfort the girl standing right in front of her, her tiredness had turned into something similar to curiosity and wonder. And of course, telling the truth was another option, but somehow, “I want to comfort you.” or “I want to encourage you.” sounded really stupid to her very own ears.</p><p> </p><p>Her head went blank. And Minji-sunbaenim tilting her head in a cute way (cursed her brain and hormone, Jesus) didn’t help.</p><p> </p><p>She stood there for a whole minute, heart raced, and hands sweated like crazy.</p><p> </p><p>Until she blurted out loud, all of a sudden, and out of the blue.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you give me a comforting hug like the one you gave Seungyeon the other day, sunbae?”</p><p>------------------------------------------</p><p>Minji didn’t expect a lot of things.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t expect that she would actually like to have Handong on her club, even though she didn’t say or express anything during the short detour. It was just a hunch, and Minji’s hunch was usually correct.</p><p> </p><p>She also didn’t expect that damn incident with Jiwoo to happen in front of that much people. She knew she did the right thing, but she couldn’t stand the look Jiwoo throwing at her face at that time. Disgust was one thing, but the hurt underneath…</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>And there came the song. Just like a slap from Jeon Jiwoo to pay back to her face. Maybe it was just a mere coincident. Maybe it was only her assumption. But still… It hit. Should that song really be about fearlessness? Was she speaking to her? Was her inner fear that visible? Was she able to see through her vulnerability that easily?</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>Minji didn’t know. She only knew that if it was Jiwoo, it would be the worst. That wild look in her eyes. She would be the worst person on Earth should know her well-hidden weaknesses.</p><p> </p><p>But she could handle it later on. Now, she had an even bigger problem to care about.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t expect Yoohyeon to follow her, not even one bit. After re-thinking about it, she was so damn sure she hadn’t leaked anything outside. Her facial muscles were getting used to giving out a polite smile. She wasn’t rush. And she was sure she looked calm, when trying to remember about that comforting and familiar smell of mint, floral, and lemongrass.</p><p> </p><p>Yet here she was. Facing a worrying but calm Yoohyeon. Damn. Her acting skill must have gone rustier than she could ever expect. But now wasn’t the time to worry about it. Now was the time to clean whatever mess she had stupidly caused in the beginning.</p><p> </p><p>So she focused even more on her facial expression, which was easier with a mirror in front. She smiled, a softer one this time, and ask with a ray of hope that her question would be enough to make the girl feel awkward, or better, back down.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t expect her to stand firmly in front of her, and suddenly asked with her arm wide opened.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you give me a comforting hug like the one you gave Seungyeon the other day, sunbae?”</p><p> </p><p>She shilly asked, but never for once, had the intention of chickening out.</p><p> </p><p>“I had a <em>really </em>bad day today…”</p><p> </p><p>That baffled Minji.</p><p> </p><p>In her whole life, she’d never received that kind of request. Most of the time, when she found people in troubles, they were concealing it in a lousy way. Like, they wouldn’t say it out loud, but their actions, body language, and facial expressions were screaming for help. Her help. Because she was the one who found them, after all.</p><p> </p><p>She’d never faced a verbal ask for help. Not until now.</p><p> </p><p>It gave her no choice but to nod after a brief moment of being stunned. That was one of her bad habits. Sometimes she didn’t know how to say no. And this time, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to say no, because…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s request didn’t make her feel urged. Like, she was asked to do her a favour, but she wasn’t obliged to give this girl anything if she didn’t want it.</p><p> </p><p>And yet… Her puppy eyes were demanding. Gently, demanding. The softest kind of request, spoken with the most genuine kind of voice.</p><p> </p><p>So there she went. Sheepishly falling into the taller girl’s embrace.</p><p> </p><p>And she couldn’t help but noticing this hug was totally different from the one she gave to Seungyeon the other day.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s hug was tighter. Firmer, but also gentler in a way she couldn’t really explain. Warmer, softer, with a distinctive smell of floral, vanilla, and tropical fruit. And the way she stroked her back. The way she held her in hand. So that she could perfectly nudge into the crook of her neck.</p><p> </p><p>Just like a feather gently sweeping through her heavy chest.</p><p> </p><p>And the weirdest thing was…</p><p> </p><p>Contrast to her words, Yoohyeon didn’t lean on her.</p><p> </p><p>She was there, patiently waited. At first, Minji didn’t really know what the tall girl was waiting for, but then again, later on, when she slowly relaxed and gave in to this warmth, when she rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder, when she tightened her own hug around her thin waist, she knew.</p><p> </p><p>The girl was waiting for her to loosen up. To tighten her embrace. And to lean on her.</p><p> </p><p>Which she did.</p><p> </p><p>It was tempting, after all. And it definitely was something she desperately needed, even though she would never admit it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t really need a comforting hug, did you?”</p><p> </p><p>Her pliant body stiffened a bit.</p><p> </p><p>“I had a long day, but…” She simply shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I still don’t, if you wanna ask.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji quietly chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>“And you don’t know why I left, do you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I want to. Might have a vague idea, but…” She gave out a disappointed sigh. “No, I don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“And yet… You came…”</p><p> </p><p>“Indeed. I did.”</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>Minji liked her honesty. She liked her warmth. She also liked being hugged. She definitely liked leaning on her, even though she’d never thought she would. And she liked almost everything about this, even though they were just standing inside a stupid toilet, which wasn’t the most appropriate place in the world for Yoohyeon’s comforting therapy session.</p><p> </p><p>The only thing she disliked, was this familiar feeling invading her chest. The bittersweet twitch, in a way she definitely had expected before.</p><p> </p><p>So she broke out of the embrace first, shily but genuinely smiled, and immediately missed the warmth she’d just parted not too long ago.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess I owe you a thank?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why do you?” She raised her voice in surprise. “I asked for it first, didn’t I?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji didn’t really know what to say to that. But somehow, it felt just so… Yoohyeon. And she could be really stubborn if she ever wanted to, so Minji just smiled, accepted her abnormal reasoning, and headed out first.</p><p> </p><p>“If you don’t need to use the toilet, then should we be back now?”</p><p> </p><p>As she expected, Yoohyeon nodded, her puppy eyes glittered with pure joy and relief, and by taking advantage of her long pair of legs, she was able to catch up with her in no time. Neither of them said anything. But the way back to the theatre wasn’t long, so a few minutes of quiet wouldn’t hurt.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, it seemed like both Yoohyeon and she didn’t dislike it. It was simply… good to be with someone else. Not talking. Not trying to ease the dense or unnatural feeling lingered in the air between two strangers. Just… enjoying the other’s company, that was all.</p><p> </p><p>And a few minutes felt short.</p><p> </p><p>But to be honest, Minji didn’t oppose to seeing the other three friends of Yoohyeon either. Being with them felt good, too. She didn’t feel like she had to try to be someone, or satisfy any of their needs.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Just consider that as a brief break free, Kim Minji.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, so what did we miss?” Yoohyeon happily said, seemed a little bit too happy for a simple hug. “How many times did that bitch Jeon Jiwoo ask that poor Kim Chanmi for a re-practice?</p><p> </p><p>“Only twice, with a lot of nagging and instructing and yelling.” Sarcastically, Gahyeon shrugged. “You guys didn’t go that long anyway.” Before narrowing her eyes. “What happened to you? Why are you smiling like an idiot again?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji was sure her cheeks felt heated, but she mustered all of her effort to not let it show out.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon, on the other hand, wasn’t that good at controlling her own emotion. “Huh? No? Nothing?” She lied, cheeks <em>flamed</em> with heat and red, and the elder girl felt the urge to wipe that smile off her face all of a sudden. “I swear. Nothing happened, right, sunbae?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, nothing.” This obvious lie made she extremely uneasy, but she had no choice but to go along with it. “We just needed to use the toilet at the same time, that’s all. Anyway, Yoohyeonie, I heard you said something about Jiwoo earlier, no? Something about her being…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Did I?” The tall girl, while completely missed her hint at a clumsy attempt to change the subject, showed out a really puzzled face when interrupting her question. “But I don’t even like her. Why would I speak anything about her anyway?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s eyes were widely opened when she shook her head. Oh God. After that heart-melting moment, how could she be so clueless all of a sudden? And could she please stop smiling? Oh God… Somebody came and helped her, please… This girl could pretty much be the death of her someday.</p><p> </p><p>“You said she worked her ass off in the school studio.” Luckily, Handong decided to remind her of that, and coincidently saved Minji’s ass this time. “And had anxiety. Which confused me, considering what just happened now and then.”</p><p> </p><p>Her elegant finger was now pointing to her back, where Jeon Jiwoo was again, shouting at Kim Chanmi’s ‘lousy’ performance, so harsh that now Gain-seonsaengnim had to intervene to cool down the heated mood of almost every member of the dance club.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that.” Yoohyeon suddenly ah-ed in realisation. “Oh yeah, I did. But come on, isn’t it too obvious?”</p><p> </p><p>Now it was Minji’s turn to be puzzled. And Handong, too. But Gahyeon just rolled her eyes in frustration, and…</p><p> </p><p>“Not everyone could be a weirdo to deduct random things just from scanning someone’s appearance like you.” Yubin pretended to smack her friend’s head. “And these two aren’t familiar with your weird behaviour, <em>yet</em>, so just explain when they ask for, will you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not the head…” Yoohyeon whined, which was kinda cute. “I’m already dumb enough…”</p><p> </p><p>“Say that again, and I’ll hit you hard enough to make you <em>really </em>dumb.” The youngest protested with a raised fist. “Now, explain.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, it’s simple, really.” She clumsily dodged Gahyeon’s slap, and smacked her back into one of the empty seats on her left-hand side. “Ouch. The thing is, she was tying her hair up in a ponytail, so it was easy to see the skin around her ears was all reddened, right? And there was a small piece of black fake leather sticking on it, too. She must have been wearing a really worn-out pair of headphones for a really long time before coming here, enough to make her sweat even a little. I mean, who could sweat in this kind of weather? And there’s only one place in this school has such an old pair of headphones because not so many people using it, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji and Handong stunned in impression.</p><p> </p><p>“Which is the school studio.” Yubin finished her word. “Got it.”</p><p> </p><p>“And no, no one actually cares to see all of those things, except you weirdo.” The youngest shrugged. “But go ahead. Couldn’t it be her using her own headphones?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was silver.” Yoohyeon shook her head in disbelief. “Didn’t you see it? And the pads were in perfect condition. You can ask her to show you if you want.”</p><p> </p><p>That almost earned her another smack, if Yubin didn’t hold Gahyeon back this time. And Minji was surprised. Like, seriously, surprised. And that included the fact that she was barely surprised at anything and everything already.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, so, about her anxiety…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just give her nails a good look.” Yoohyeon shrugged. “They’re fake, I can guarantee. Her right index fingernail was out of place by a few millimetres. And that was just newly re-applied. It was still glossed and hasn’t been completely dry, because she had to take them off to be able to use the keyboard of the MIDI. She must have been in a hurry before getting here, which explains why it was like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay…” Handong blinked, seemed not too sure about how that fact would explain anything. “And…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, our school doesn’t allow manicures of all kinds, even polishing and fake nails.” Yoohyeon patted her palm on her forehead. “Sorry, I forgot you didn’t know that, but anyway. Back to that nail thingy, if she was allowed to, it’s just simply because she has something must be hidden underneath those small plastic pieces, doesn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>“And that thing would be…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Her bitten fingernails.” The tall girl smirked. “Take a good look at them, and you’ll see it. Some part of the skin was torn out, too, even though it’s healing pretty well. But it was deep enough to cause bleedings. Some of her nails must be in a pretty bad condition, or else, how could the committee allow her wearing those things? And she couldn’t stop touching or fidgeting with them, either. You see? Old habits die hard.”</p><p> </p><p>Here came a moment of silence.</p><p> </p><p>To be honest, Minji was completely caught by surprise. And today, she had to take another good look at her hoobae, Kim Yoohyeon. Like, really, she hadn’t expected her to be… like this.</p><p> </p><p>And there came Handong, too. When she, after being impressed just like Minji, silently hmphed in disappointment.</p><p> </p><p>“And you guys said that Jeon Jiwoo was composing this song…” She waved her hand in general to emphasise at the sound echoing the whole theatre. “… For her? And it was praised a lot, too? I mean, both the song and her performance?”</p><p> </p><p>Her finger pointing at Kim Chanmi, who was dancing like there was no tomorrow on stage.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhm…” Gahyeon wavered in uncertainty. “Yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that’s weird.” Handong simply said, before shrugging. “But well, never mind. It’s not important anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese might not intend to do so, but Minji had learnt one thing. There was nothing triggering everyone’s curiosity faster than telling them that there was nothing happened. No one asked her anything after that because none of them wanted to push the girl on her first day, that was true.</p><p> </p><p>But no one could take their eyes off her, that was also true.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, alright.” The poor girl finally sighed in defeated. “It was just… off, I think? Like… really off, get it?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji didn’t get it. And considering the confusing look on the others, she knew that they didn’t have better luck than her.</p><p> </p><p>Handong gave out another sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyone watched ‘Coco’? That Disney animation?”</p><p> </p><p>Four nods.</p><p> </p><p>“The weird feeling when you hear ‘Remember me’ sang by Ernesto de la Cruz? That kind of off.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji blinked. And so did the other three in confusion. That definitely was something she didn’t expect.</p><p> </p><p>And the list of things-Minji-didn’t-expect didn’t end here. No. Before anyone could react to Handong’s statement, Seungyeon, the choreographer, the temporary dance leader of her theatre club was running toward the five of them, eyes widen with an unmistakeable fear written all over her face.</p><p> </p><p>“Sunbae, sunbae.” She called out, totally terrified to notice some frustrating and question stares thrown at her on the way she was running. “The backstage. You have to come, now.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji frowned. Seungyeon wasn’t the type of people easily getting scared by something.</p><p> </p><p>“Seungyeon, calm down.” She lowered her voice in a soothing manner. “Breathe. Calm down. Everyt…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not, sunbae. Everything’s not ok.” The choreographer cut her off in a frantic voice. “It comes. It comes, <em>again</em>. And it’s not just a stupid doll holding a stupid piece of paper. You have to come, now!”</p><p> </p><p>Minji didn’t hesitate this time. Her mind was running a thousand miles, while her legs were literally doing the same to follow the girl’s suit. She had some kind of vague guess when hearing the news, and she kinda recognised it was the same person sending the last two ‘gifts’ to her theatre club.</p><p> </p><p>And except for the message, it was nothing. A ripped-out book page, held by an old, ragged doll.</p><p> </p><p>But it didn’t scare Seungyeon. It scared <em>her </em>more, to be honest. But…</p><p> </p><p>The younger’s expression made her think. She’d expected so many things could have happened, and so many things could have gone wrong.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t expect <em>that</em>, when arriving at the backstage.</p><p> </p><p>To see a ragged doll, lips smiled, but eyes was not. Its back was drowned in some kind of red-and-brown liquid, tiny plastic hands held a broken piece of mirror, the cracks somehow reminded her of a messy spiderweb, with a message written on top, in something like…</p><p> </p><p>“Bloo… Is that… Blood?”</p><p> </p><p>Hongbin, the male main role, who was leading some of the other actors and actresses in her club while entering the room, shakily muttered, in anxiety and maybe anger too, when his mutter turned into a desperate and frustrated roar.</p><p> </p><p>“What the… Who the fuck did this?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji didn’t answer. She couldn’t give him an answer, and no one else could. Besides, she was busy of thinking about something else, rather than just what she was watching, right here, right now.</p><p> </p><p>Something… like the previous two messages’d been sent to the backstage. Of how they fitted into one complete bigger threat. Like a missing piece of a whole puzzle.</p><p> </p><p>“Under the moonlight no sinners can hide…” Covering her mouth, Yujin mumbled in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“… conceal yourself well…” Seonghwa followed.</p><p> </p><p>‘Or else…’ The cracked mirror said. ‘Goodluck.’</p><p> </p><p>No one uttered another word.</p><p> </p><p>And Minji didn’t notice.</p><p> </p><p>That behind her, Kim Chanmi, the new comer, was, literally, shaking like a leave.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ok, so no death yet. But I hoped this could be counted as something happened? LOL </p><p>Anyway, is this chapter too long for your suit? Or should I try with a shorter one? Well, short chap is not my thing to be honest, I suck at writing sharp and short and still deliver enough what I wanted to include, but if it's too long... I guess I could try to do something about it :"&gt;</p><p>And I hoped everyone recognise the song I mentioned?</p><p>Well, if you don't... Then I'll give out the answer in the next chapter then ;) And yes, kudos and comments, as always, are appreciated :"&gt;</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. "If being ignorant is a sin, then we're all sinners, I guess?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This time, waiting was half-long in comparing to the last time, wasn't it? And I was surprised, too. I mean, normally, I would rest for 2-3 days before writing the next chap, and it normally takes me around a week for one 10-page length chapter, but... </p><p>I finished this one in 2 days *applause to myself* I did work hard LOL I think.</p><p>And I guess my writing speed is proportional to 'Odd Eye' MV views LOL</p><p>Thank you for your support, kudos, and comments. Let's skip all the ranting and get to work with our cutie little gang :"&gt;</p><p>Lastly, I hold no grudge toward VIXX Hongbin as well :(</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoohyeon was totally lost. In her own thought, without her self-noticing.</p><p> </p><p>Her surroundings became nothing but a mixture of muffled sounds and blurry images. She couldn’t hear the voice of Gain-seonsaengnim asking what had happened. She couldn’t hear Seunghee-sunbaenim saying something about getting that wrapped gift box from a janitor ahjuma, who had been working at this school for more than a decade. She couldn’t hear the quiet and terrified, or quiet and angry discussions among the theatre and the dance club members. She couldn’t even know if Minji-sunbaenim, Yubin and Gahyeon were a part of that small crowd.</p><p> </p><p>Her only focus was that thing.</p><p> </p><p>The broken mirror. Or more precise, the letters written on the glass surface, in something pretty similar to blood. That could be blood, but it could also be something else, too. She wasn’t close enough to confirm, but she wouldn’t be surprised if that was just paint or animal blood, so that wasn’t too much of a big problem to be concerned about.</p><p> </p><p>The bigger problems, which filling up her brain now, lied in somewhere else.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t help but squinting her eyes. This message bugged her. Not the content, no, but the <em>way</em> it was written… Everything about this screamed… off.</p><p> </p><p>Like how the line of the letters could be considered, to some extent, neat, without any scratches on.</p><p> </p><p>Like how the line was less saturated on the upper half.</p><p> </p><p>Like how a few first letters were slightly smudged on the left-hand side.</p><p> </p><p>Like how all the circles were written clockwise.</p><p> </p><p>Like how all the horizontal strokes were pointy to the left.</p><p> </p><p>Like how some of the other strokes, both vertical and diagonal, from top left to bottom right, were all ended in a perfect half-round shape.</p><p> </p><p>Like the liquid was used as ink. Or to be more precise, the way it was spread on the mirror surface. So uneven. Unsmooth. Discontinuous, with a small saturated red circle, then unsaturated one. Then another saturated one, following by an unsaturated. Saturated, then unsaturated. A chain of incomplete bloodlike circles in different shade intertwining. Not something abnormal, if she had to admit, but…</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t make anything easier, if she wasn’t wrong. And she didn’t think she was, which was another big problem.</p><p> </p><p>But so far, she couldn’t do anything about it, so her focal point started to widen, and her brain immediately received information of what was happening around.</p><p> </p><p>“So… Paint, you said?”</p><p> </p><p>Which was something she was neither fond of nor grateful for, because…</p><p> </p><p>That sound of the precious mirror being broken was unexpectedly horrendous to her ears.</p><p> </p><p>She was spacing out long enough to not even notice Lee Hongbin had run toward the gift box, pushed Seonghwa away, and furiously crashed all of them to the ground. The outer box and the doll were torn apart. The mirror was completely broken. All happened in just a blink.</p><p> </p><p>And no, she definitely didn’t expect it to come at any form or anytime, not to mention if she had known the scene could be <em>this </em>horrendous. She didn’t even think someone could be that stupid, to be honest. She understood he might be angry, and he had every right to be, but still…</p><p> </p><p>“Hongbin, stop!”</p><p> </p><p>Minji-sunbaenim quickly rushed forward, but Yoohyeon doubted if the club leader could do anything against a twice-her-sized clubmate. She was on the verge of rushing forward, too, but Yubin’s grasp was way faster, as if her friend had guessed this would come. She turned around, only to meet up with her head shake and her obvious warning stare.</p><p> </p><p>And damn. Yoohyeon understood all of this. She had no right to interfere in. She wasn’t a member of the theatre club, she wasn’t a police officer, she was a nobody at this school with no authority, and she was nothing more than an ordinary hoobae to Minji-sunbaenim.  </p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>Shit, she couldn’t even control her own anger toward herself. Why did she have to stand here like a useless idiot? She could have done more, much more than just… this.</p><p> </p><p>“Crashing these won’t help at anything.” Lucky for her, Youngjo, Seonghwa and Yonghoon, too, had joined the gang to stop their vice leader even before Minji could. “Calm down! Stop!”</p><p> </p><p>But even if he stopped, which he did, it was too late already. Evidences were gone. Not like she could actually bring them home and ask Taeyeon-unnie, or no, Yuri-unnie would be a better option for bribing or blackmailing, to examine, but still. Damn. She couldn’t help but throwing him an angry look, which he didn’t see it in his own anger.</p><p> </p><p>“Calm down, then what?” Giving out a last struggle, Hongbin could finally get rid of the arms trying to lock him down. “Can anybody find out who the fuck this prankster is? Like only the fucking broken mirror is not bad enough? And you!” He angrily pointed his finger at Seunghee-sunbaenim, who was speechlessly shock and scared, either at the scene, or the sudden accusation, or both. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’ve already known what this shit was, haven’t you? Then why did you even accept it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hongbin, that’s enough.” Raising her voice, Minji-sunbaenim stood in between Seunghee-sunbaenim and his rude finger, which Yoohyeon didn’t really understand where the elder could find such bravery to do so. “It’s not her fault. It’s nobody’s fault but the one sending it. Blaming her or destroying those out of your anger won’t help you find out who did this to us. And don’t you think that this is exactly what the prankster was looking for? You’re doing nothing but giving him exactly what he wanted, so calm.down.”</p><p> </p><p>That hit.</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl could see Hongbin’s anger, even though it was still there, had finally been suppressed. He was furious, but at least, he hated the notion of satisfying whoever did this even more, enough to make him lower the hand, stabilise his breathe, and stop cursing. God, what a relief. And God, she knew this wasn’t the most proper time in the world, but Minji-sunbaenim…</p><p> </p><p>How could she be so cool, when Yoohyeon had thought she couldn’t admire this girl even more than she already had?</p><p> </p><p>“So Kyuhyun isn’t here yet, is he?”</p><p> </p><p>Startled, the tall girl turned around, totally forgot that there weren’t only students in this waiting room, but also another adult with bigger authority than anyone here.</p><p> </p><p>Son Gain. The dance club supervisor, also the music teacher of all twelfth graders in Jung Dok High. Short hair. Great taste, not also in music, but in art in general. Beautiful. Confident. And harsh as hell when coming to anything related to art.</p><p> </p><p>Which scared her more when her beautiful face looked even harsher than it normally did.</p><p> </p><p>“Minji.” She crossed her arm, obviously upset. “Did Kyuhyun know anything of this? Why haven’t I heard the board saying anything?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, seonsaengnim, he did.” The leader hesitated, but still nodded to confirm. “It's just... The previous twos weren’t as… vicious as this one. We were all thinking it was just some kind of jokes, rather than…”</p><p> </p><p>“But it’s obviously <em>not </em>a joke now.” She matter-of-factly said, considered everything for a nearly ten seconds before stating. “I’ll talk to Kyuhyun, but I don’t think you guys should continue your rehearsal until we know what this…” She waved her hand at the broken evidence. “… means.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t hold her blinking. Fine, she understood that her teacher’s words made sense, but… Considering the Spring Fes was only a month away, wasn’t this a little bit too cruel for Mi… she meant, the theatre club?</p><p> </p><p>“But, seonsaengnim…”</p><p> </p><p>Minji-sunbaenim’s protest was stopped by the firm look of her teacher. Her clubmates were silent, too, but the look in their eyes clearly saying the same thing. Stopping wasn’t something they wanted. The incoming Spring Festival was a big chance of being recruited to their dream universities, after all. And practice made it perfect, and now, how could they perform perfectly without a single practice?</p><p> </p><p>Hongbin, on the other hand, didn’t take this hidden message that well.</p><p> </p><p>“But if we stopped all the club activities now, does it mean we’re giving in to whoever did this, seonsaengnim?”</p><p> </p><p>Gain-seonsaengnim remained silent for a brief moment. It was obvious that she, too, was having an inner struggle. Of course, what Hongbin said wasn't totally wrong. Whoever behind this might be looking for that result: afterschool activities being stopped. But it didn’t take long for the teacher to make up her mind, Yoohyeon reckoned.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes flickered in a strange way, with some kind of hard to interpret emotions that the tall girl’d never seen before. It was… what was it? Softer?</p><p> </p><p>Damn. She really sucked at understanding human emotion in general.</p><p> </p><p>Then…</p><p> </p><p>“If something happened to you guys?”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes scanned around, stopped at Hongbin’s furious face, and, with a straight back, the teacher gave out an answer Yoohyeon swore that no one here had ever expected to hear.</p><p> </p><p>“I would rather give in to this maniac. Now, the dance club, too. Dismiss.”</p><p> </p><p>And no one could object her word this time.</p><p>------------------------------------------</p><p>Gahyeon was uneasy.</p><p> </p><p>And seriously, could anyone blame her for that? Really, what was wrong with this fucking term anyway? It was only the first day, and heck, this was the longest first day she’d ever experienced during her shitty fifteen-year of living already.</p><p> </p><p>And yes, Dong-unnie hadn’t gone home straight away did lift her spirit up a little bit (Hell, this girl was really something, ‘cause damn it, after all of this? If Gahyeon’d been a new student, she would have ditched this stupid school and run away as far as she could already), but Yoohyeon, the idiot who never shut up, hadn’t cracked out a single word or smile for like what, twenty, no, thirty minutes?</p><p> </p><p>That pulled her spirit down to the fucking ground, again.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it. Could this day get any worse?</p><p> </p><p>“You should stop tugging your hair.” Yubin gently held her hand as a reminder, then turned to her giant friend. “And you should say something to stop our little kid from balding her skull before she turns into her thirtyish.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest girl couldn’t help but sighing. The fact that she was an open book to both Yubin-unnie and Yoohyeon (in two different ways, but when these two joined forces? Felt like she was totally seen through, both physically and mentally, whether she liked it or not) always brought her mix feelings. Scared, for sure, like being naked under the others’ eyes kind of scare, but also comforting in a weird and unexplainable way.</p><p> </p><p>Like ok, she wasn’t good, she wasn’t the best, she had some dirty secrets, but they didn’t go anywhere else but her side even though they knew all of those things, that kind of comfort.</p><p> </p><p>So yeah. She hated seeing either of them being upset. Even Yoohyeon, the one and only figuring out her secrets, and obliging her to swear to never ever use that again.</p><p> </p><p>Which she was partly grateful for. Only partly, that was it. But still grateful, even though she would never admit it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s just too focused, that’s all.” Yubin-unnie finally shrugged after the last attempt of pulling that idiot back to reality. “Don’t worry. She’ll be back before you even notice.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is she normally like this?”</p><p> </p><p>Was Dong-unnie half worried half curious question, and her other unnie just nodded. “When she can’t fully understand something? Yes.”</p><p> </p><p>“And normally, nothing good comes out after that.” Gahyeon hissed. “Which is why I hate it even more when she does shut up. And watch out for that sand bag, unnie.” She motioned at heaps of sand bags, nets, and ropes both lying on the ground and hung around the ceiling of the backstage they were going through. “That rope, too. This stage might be old, but we still have lots of props and dangerous stuffs hanging all over the place. And pulleys won’t help much in reducing the velocity if you mess up and make something fall on your head, unfortunately, so be careful.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese girl suddenly threw a half incredulous half impressed look at her. And a mischievous grin, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Do we have a future scientist in the house?”</p><p> </p><p>And that might not be her actual intention, but the youngest’s shoulders<em> did</em> stiffen for a sec.</p><p> </p><p>“No, we don’t. I just happen to be ok at science, and those are not the thing I’m best at.” Before changing the subject. “And Kim Yoohyeon? Say something, please. If you’re looking for the prankster, shouldn’t you just go ahead and find some lefty theatre club haters? There must be only a few of them could fall into those two specific categories, mustn't it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>That question, although earned her two pairs of cocked eyebrows, finally could bring her tall idiot back to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe ‘theatre club’, or more precise, ‘Kim Minji’ could be the magic word.</p><p> </p><p>“Lefties?” Dong-unnie and Yubin-unnie blurted out at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s about the theatre club again?” Yoohyeon asked.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon rolled her eyes at her tall friend. Ok, so ‘Theatre club’ or ‘Kim Minji’ it was.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that’s a lefty for you.” Ignoring this sucker for girls, she turned toward the other twos. “Did you guys see those first letters? They were smudged, obviously. It looks like someone must have accidently pressed their palm on while writing that stupid message to move on to the next letter, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Now Gahyeon started to understand why Yoohyeon liked speaking out loud random things about random people like that. The impressed and admiring looks from Dong-unnie and Yubin-unnie, especially Yubin-unnie, was extremely enjoyable, even to her own taste. </p><p> </p><p>But her happiness didn’t last for too long, because…</p><p> </p><p>“We’re not looking for a left-handed guy.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest frowned. Her tall friend rarely looked calm, but now, she was speaking in the calmest tone ever, and seriously, what was this girl talking about? Did she mean that this prankster wasn’t left-handed after seeing that message?</p><p> </p><p>“Or no, no, sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>The frown on Gahyeon's face disappeared.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>I’m </em>not, that’ll be more precise.”</p><p> </p><p>Then, ignoring, or most likely, not really noticing the youngest’s frown’s re-appearance, an even deeper than before, actually, she gave out a <em>serious</em> heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“I wish he really <em>was</em> left-handed. Life would be much easier that way…”</p><p> </p><p>That left everyone, Gahyeon herself, too, dumbfounded, for the nth time.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait.” Dong-unnie abruptly stopped walking. “Are you saying he’s not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup. A hundred percent.” was her despondent answer.</p><p> </p><p>“For real? You’re sure?” Yubin-unnie asked for another confirmation.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s what a hundred percent means, isn’t it?” Puzzled, Yoohyeon titled her head before chuckling in both disbelief and, what? Admiration? “But this guy’s good. I was spacing out a bit when he nearly got me. Dang, even <em>I </em>thought he was left-handed in the first place…”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait.” Dong-unnie suddenly remembered. “So you didn’t stun because of that bloodlike message? I thought you were afraid of blood at that time, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah. Why would I? I mean, the possibility of that liquid being human blood is terribly low. That mirror would be sent to the police straight away should that be human blood, no doubt. And you don’t really want the police to interfere now, do you? That’s why he only used paint. Besides, blood is not easy to get without being forced to sign into some type of paperwork, which could pretty much reveal your handwriting, appearance, and other stuffs from hospital CCTV cameras, and with that amount of blood? The police will be able to trace back to which hospital it comes from, for sure. And Jesus, human blood is expensive as hell. Card transaction would be too easy to trace, and if you don’t want that? Having a lot of cash on you surely would attract quite a few unnecessary attentions these days. Of course, you can use your own blood, but blood alone can give out tons of information. Your DNA, your blood type, your gender, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I wouldn’t do that if I were the guy, though.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese was obviously stunned. Yoohyeon’s rapping skill was obviously improved to another level. Not only she hadn’t needed to stop for once to breathe in, but also the amount of information she’d just blasted out to the other, too. Heck, it was even enough to make Gahyeon blink, now half baffled half curious.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay… Now, back to the topic.” She shook her head to get rid of the admiring feeling toward this girl. “The right-handed part. How did you know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, well… It was pretty obvious that he wore Latex gloves and wrote those letters with his fingertips, wasn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>All three of them nodded. Writing made by fingertip was distinguishable, just like she said.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon smiled in satisfaction, held her own index finger up, and wrote a few words on her spread palm.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s eyes were wide-opened when she loudly ah-ed in realisation. Shit. Shit. Shit. She was such an idiot, no doubt.</p><p> </p><p>“Yup, now you notice.” The tall girl headed toward the other two. “See, you don’t need to use your palm as a fulcrum like writing with a pen, do you? Then why would there be smudges in the beginning? Besides, the smudged letters were only the first few ones. If he didn’t notice his own habit, then why weren’t <em>all </em>of them smudged?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest didn’t even try to answer. That, too, was now obvious to her as daylight.</p><p> </p><p>“Because he noticed? Then why not using another mirror, and re-writing everything from the scratch? If you were the guy, wouldn’t you want to hide that fact? ‘Cause after all, anyone could have noticed it just by using their common sense. But now we all know that obviously, he didn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>No one objected or raised questions of any kind when the tallest briefly stopped.</p><p> </p><p>“So where the heck does those smudges come from?”</p><p> </p><p>It was Yubin-unnie who blurted out loud this time.</p><p> </p><p>“He left them there on purpose. To make people think he was left-handed.”</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly.” Yoohyeon snapped her finger. “But I wouldn’t blame our Gahyeonie for mis-guessing, though.” And skilfully ignored Gahyeon’s deadly glare. “He <em>did</em> write that by his left hand. That’s why I was almost caught off guard, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait.” Her question made the youngest forgot that this girl had just exposed her stupidity. “What?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl let out a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“He-wrote-by-his-left-hand.” She slowly said, word by word. “And yes, I’m sure.” She exhaled, again, and continued before any of them could talk. “And yes, I can figure that out pretty much from the circles and the horizontal stoke of the message.” She used her own left hand to draw an unbelievingly ugly circle on her palm. “Clockwise. And…” Before drawing a not-so-straight horizontal line. “… A line, pointing to the left. You get it?”</p><p> </p><p>Three headshakes were the responses she got.</p><p> </p><p>“Try for your own.” She urged. “Try to write those in a way you guys feel most comfortable with.”</p><p> </p><p>The three of them tried. Gahyeon tried. And tried. And tried. And she still couldn’t understand what Yoohyeon wanted to say, until…</p><p> </p><p>“They’re… odd.” Yubin-unnie frowned. She was focusing on her own right-hand palm, which was filled with about five or six circles and lines in blue ballpoint pen ink. “Somethings… Hey, they’re backward with our normal handwriting if we’re writing by our right hand, is that what you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh.” She hummed. “Because it takes less energy to push your hand away from your body then pulling it toward your body, so if we draw circles, it’ll be more natural for right hands to draw it anti-clockwise, and for left hands, it’s clockwise. The same with horizontal line. Right hand, from the left to the right. Left hand, from the right to the left. We righties are so blessed, ‘cause you see? We are taught to write Hangul that way, too. From top to bottom. From the left to the right.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hold on a second, genius.” Gahyeon still had another question for her friend. “I know what you’re talking about, but aren’t lefties the same? Won’t they feel more natural to draw a circle clockwise, and strike from the right to the left?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, surprisingly, most of them don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“No?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” She firmly answered. “Or more accurately, they don’t follow their natural feelings at this age anymore. They’re taught by right-handed people, aren’t they? Nah, I’m just joking, not all of them are, but my point is, the way <em>we </em>write was taught to every single child going to a Korean primary school. Lefties would feel unnatural, but eventually, they’ll get used to it. Most of the lines are written by pushing their hand toward their body anyway. The circles, sure, could be clockwise ‘cause that wasn’t a big matter, but have you ever seen anyone writing horizontal line backward and <em>not </em>getting scolded for it?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, there was no answer, but Gahyeon was damn sure Yoohyeon didn’t even need to confirm that.</p><p> </p><p>“Not to mention, this guy was literally <em>dragging</em> his finger to write, too. The end of the vertical strokes weren't pointy, which is completely weird. Like, a full stop after you finish your writing. And those little circles in different shades? Only happens if you press your finger with too much force in a super slow speed, because of a bunch of reasons. But this one? Might be because he didn’t get used to writing by his left hand, yet. You know, I used to make lots of them when I was drawing in the mirror to make a prank on my unnie when she got a shower a few times when I was a kid. Couldn’t write very fast, ‘cause I was dumb. I mean, I still am, but, well, you know what I mean. And yes, she did get me all the time, if you ask. I have a sister who happens to be an owl, and really, her eyes are no jokes, damn it…”</p><p> </p><p>Oh boy, the youngest’s eyes must be swung out of her sockets one day for rolling too much. This out of the blue ranting of hers was fucking annoying.</p><p> </p><p>“So…” Heading back to the old topic (Thank God), Dong-unnie carefully concluded. “The guy we’re looking for is right-handed.”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon couldn’t help but smiling. It might just unconscious, but the Chinese had used the word ‘we’. Which had a really unexpected power to lift up her drowning mood.</p><p> </p><p>And she couldn't help but wishing. If only <em>that </em>girl was acting the same...</p><p> </p><p>Or, if only she could make her act the same...</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, please, don’t mind me, but I’d like to fix that conclusion. Make it a little more accurate, you see?” Yoohyeon, as always, had decided to be the pain in the ass, <em>again.</em> “The guy we’re looking for is a right-handed who one, knows how to use his brain, and two, enough to try to write a threatening message by his left hand for misdirection purposes, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s an unnecessary doubled-length conclusion, comparing to the one Dongie’ve just made.” Yubin-unnie dryly commented before raising her eyebrows. “But ok. A precise one, I’ll give you that.”</p><p> </p><p>And the youngest almost couldn’t hold that familiar desire to wipe out this stupidly proud grin on her friend’s face. It was annoying, really. It pissed her off, too. But she didn’t hate it as much as she showed out, even though she didn’t really know why. Maybe because she knew Yoohyeon deserved it. Maybe because she really thought Yoohyeon deserved to have all the best things in this world, even though she could be the most annoying person she’d ever met. Maybe because, of all the people in this world, she just couldn’t handle Yoohyeon to be the one kept underestimating herself like she always did.</p><p> </p><p>Arg~ This kind of mix feelings were fucking frustrating.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I talked already.” Now Yoohyeon was the one holding her unconscious hair tugging hand. “So don’t worry anymore, ok? And we’re here.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh yeah, Gahyeon looked up. The conversation made she totally forget where they were heading to.</p><p> </p><p>The janitors’ office.</p><p> </p><p>But there was something else bugging her, still.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey… If you’ve already figured out that much, then why did you space out earlier?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall smile faded in a blink. Her mouth slight parted, and…</p><p> </p><p>“Oh hi.” In her and maybe, <em>her </em>surprise as well, Minji-sunbaenim’s voice called out from Gahyeon’s back. “We meet again. What are you guys doing here?”</p><p> </p><p>Releasing her hand, Yoohyeon immediately looked up, froze right at her spot, and gave out that stupid smile again. And sure, the youngest didn’t have to be Edward Cullen to know that her own image, question, and existence had been mercilessly eliminated from this weird brain of hers.  </p><p> </p><p>What an idiot.</p><p> </p><p>Could someone tell her why she’d made friend with this sucker for beautiful girls just to get ditched like this again?</p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p>Handong didn’t like the word impressed. It literally meant she had countered something she couldn’t control no matter what, but after today…</p><p> </p><p>Well, she had to admit she’d been impressed for an uncountable-th time, maybe more than her whole lifetime in total, but she wasn’t very annoyed or pissed by that. What she’d been through for today, long, yes, complicated, definitely, but most of the events were piquing her interest quite a lot.</p><p> </p><p>Especially when she saw Minji-sunbaenim’s face, after hearing what Yoohyeon’d just told them earlier about the prankster behind the scene. And yes, Handong could easily see, she wasn’t the only one blasted away by the tallest’s way of thinking and analysing random stuffs. And yes, she could also see a string of re-considering, <em>positively </em>re-considering, to be exact, in the eldest’s bright eyes, too.</p><p> </p><p>And Yoohyeon… She didn’t want to say anything bad about her, but, of course, she was obviously hopeless, as always.</p><p> </p><p>But well, Handong silently hummed in joy. She wouldn’t complain though. What had she said earlier? Yoohyeon and Minji were cute together, and she really meant it, like, for real.</p><p> </p><p>“So… you wanted to come and ask that janitor ahjuma about the gift box?”</p><p> </p><p>“And if possible, how did that guy look like, too.” Minji-sunbaenim nodded, disappointment flashed in her eyes when seeing an empty office. “But it’s too late, I guess. Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow and see how it goes. I need to get back to make sure Seunghee’s really fine, too…”</p><p> </p><p>“Or you can wait for a minute.” Yoohyeon suddenly said with an unnecessary cheerful voice. “I can just quickly check, and we’ll see if there’s any progress, now.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what the hell are you gonna look for?” Gahyeon incredulously asked after taking a good look around. “This office is empty. And excessively clean, if you ask me.”</p><p> </p><p>“True. But if we’re lucky…”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl mumbled, mostly to herself rather than answering the youngest’s question, while walking toward the only trash bin in the room. Handong squinted her eyes. Under her normal eyes, that small trash bin was completely normal-looking. It was made by plastic. It was stuffed by a small, clean, and new black plastic bag. Maybe all she could deduct from that was the bin had been cleaned recently?</p><p> </p><p>But what could that…?</p><p> </p><p>“And yes, baby, yes.”</p><p> </p><p>All four of them rushed forward when Yoohyeon fished out a piece of paper from the small bin. The victorious smile was tugging on a corner of her lips, but to everybody’s surprise, after about a minute of examining the piece, it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened, Yoo?”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t reply immediately, but looking at Gahyeon instead. A long and knowing look was exchanged before she finally said.</p><p> </p><p>“I was spacing out, because I hoped that it was an outsider’s act. If it was just sending a gift, then anyone could have done that, right? As an outsider, it would be harder to trace, and I just need to find out another way to find him, or more information, or anything. It was harder, but anyway. I hoped so, and I still do…”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest just nodded, both to show that she understood, and to ask her to continue.</p><p> </p><p>“But yeah, I was wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>And she spread the crumpled A4 sized piece of paper in front of their eyes. On one side, it was a printed short message, saying. “Please kindly send this to the backstage at 4.30 p.m. Regards.” No name, no signature, just that.</p><p> </p><p>But on the other side. At the top of that page. Where her thin finger was pointed.</p><p> </p><p>The four of them immediately knew what she meant.</p><p> </p><p>“Our school telephone number and PO box.” Yoohyeon shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. “This font, this size, everything. I don’t need to say that this line was attached to every student and teacher’s emails as their signatures, do I? Maybe one of our student or teachers just recycled this, and he accidentally printed it out without noticing… It was in grey, after all. Black and white printing will make it blur enough to be unnoticeable.”</p><p> </p><p>That was a damn long moment of silence, before Yubin could speak.</p><p> </p><p>“So that’s…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Binnie, yes.” Yoohyeon looked up, clearly unhappy with what she found out. “He could be a student. He could also be a teacher of Jung Dok High. And only knowing he’s right-handed doesn’t make anything easier, does it?”</p><p> </p><p>No one spoke another word. The only thing Handong could be relieved was that she wasn’t alone in being speechless.</p><p> </p><p>"So, sunbae." The tall girl carefully thought, as if she was choosing a proper way of phrasing her own question. "Can you please tell me if you know anything about anyone hating your club, or anyone among your club members?"</p><p> </p><p>That was an even longer moment of silence. No one rushed, or urged, or anything, but it was like the moment when all of them were eyeing her, demanding for a proper answer, Handong knew that Minji must be suffering from the same feeling as she was.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm sorry, I don't know a lot." She finally shook her head. "There might be unofficial competition between us, but about the other... I'm really not sure. I don't care much about their lives off-stage, and I don't think I should be caring that much, either."</p><p> </p><p>The air uneasily shifted, and the Chinese knew, immediately, that she wasn't the only one who didn't believe in what she said. But really. A club leader, and didn't know anything about her clubmates? That would be the most unlaughable joke she could ever hear.</p><p> </p><p>"But..."</p><p> </p><p>Handong raised an eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>"There're rumours around." She gave out a heavy sigh. "Everybody has their own things they don't want anyone to know, and digging them up without truly caring about their feelings is... It might just be me, but it simply feels... wrong."</p><p> </p><p>Wait, Handong blinked at least several times. Was this girl trying to say that she, like, seriously, didn't really care about her own club members, for real?</p><p> </p><p>But again, she internally shrugged. That made sense, somehow. After all, it was impossible to care for everybody, right? And besides that, there might be a million reasons for people to be apathised with the other's feelings and personal lives, right?</p><p> </p><p>"And if you're asking if there's anyone could hold grudges against any of us, then the answer is, there must be a lot of them, Yoohyeon-ah, because..."</p><p> </p><p>Her soft voice was so sad. And somehow, it scratched Handong's nape, left nothing but a cold quivering her spine in an unbelievingly warm beautiful spring day. </p><p> </p><p>"If being ignorant is a sin, then we're all sinners, I guess?" </p><p> </p><p>That hit. Not only her, she could see, but also the other three as well.</p><p> </p><p>"But I do think you're on the right track." Minji-sunbaenim suddenly chuckled. A quiet one, as if she was trying to lift up the mood, but miserably failed. "To a theatre performer, 'Good luck' is just... bad. That phrase never brought out anything good, even if it was just a superstition. And yes, broken mirror, too..."</p><p> </p><p>Another heavy sigh. </p><p> </p><p>"The signs of bad luck, indeed..."</p><p> </p><p>Another sadly beautiful smile that shouldn't stay on a beautiful face.</p><p> </p><p>"Sorry guys, I have to go now." Trying to get rid of her personal emotions, Minji-sunbaenim inhaled a long breath, before giving out another forced smile. "If you need to know anything else, just ask. I'll try to give you as much information as I could, alright?"</p><p> </p><p>Her gaze landed on Yoohyeon. </p><p> </p><p>"'Cause if it's you, then maybe, <em>you</em> can find out who did this, right?"</p><p> </p><p>That was an unexpected soft gaze, with all the belief she could ever muster.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm counting on you now, Yoohyeonie." Her wish was a simple whisper. "Break a leg."</p><p> </p><p>With that, she left a slightly blushing with pride Yoohyeon, and the other baffled two, no, three, including Handong, too, behind.</p><p> </p><p>They were just... </p><p> </p><p>"Wow..." Gahyeon exclaimed, didn't really know what else to say.</p><p> </p><p>And the Chinese couldn't agree with her more than that. An unexpected confession like this, coming from the school pride? </p><p> </p><p>Just... wow.</p><p> </p><p>What a way to end her rollercoaster-like, hell of a long first school day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ok, so, sorry guys, still no deaths *self-cursing*</p><p>I swear, I tried, but somehow, inserting the first death in this chapter still didn't feel right. Besides, it was quite a lot of information, too, so I guess putting it in the next one would be a better option. </p><p>And the last sentence reminds me that... 5 chapters in my fic equals to a day in real life *gasp* But again, it was an important day, so...</p><p>And I might just blurting out excuses, but... I suck at calculation, especially when it comes to chapter length, too *cry a river* </p><p>Feel free to ask me anything if there was anything unclear or illogical to you :) If you don't want to do that here, then here's my Twitter https://twitter.com/dzung_10892 I still haven't used to play with this blue bird yet, but I think I might start updating some kind of ideas, drabbles, and fic ideas on it, so if you would like to visit and chat about it, you're more than welcome to :"&gt;</p><p>Oh, I do have CC, too, but has no followers yet, so I'm not sure how often I would be checking it, but anyway. If there anything you want to ask there and not here, please be my guest. I love chatting, as you might see, I'm so talkative right now, especially if coming to writing, reading, and fics :D Here is my CC https://curiouscat.qa/dzung_10892</p><p>Until next time~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. “It’s always the Devil having the best taste, isn’t it?”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for your patience and supports, those comments and kudos mean a lot to me, really ^^ You guys really motivate me to bring my ass to write as fast as I could (Well, I do like my plot until this point, so that, too, helped me write to shape up what I have in mind, but still, your supports are way better LOL).</p><p>Lastly, just the same thing, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I do ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoohyeon couldn’t find out who the prankster was.</p><p> </p><p>Which, to be honest, Handong wasn’t surprised to the least. The janitors had told them everything they knew. The sender hadn’t shown up (obviously), so no one had any clue about how they looked, or who they were. Cash was sent in a blank envelope, which as per the tall girl’s own words, “Untraceable. I could go to a bank and ask for any information about the notes, <em>if </em>our ahjuma still has it in hand, by providing them some serial numbers, and couldn’t even get a single penny for my bus. Being given some so-called-sensitive-and-privacy info is just a pipe dream.”.</p><p> </p><p>The message, which they’d found on the same day the event’d occurred, didn’t give out a lot of information. It could be printed from anywhere in the school, and there was no CCTV to trace. Besides, not to mention they wouldn’t have the authority to check the footage, with the amount of people wandering around? Handong highly doubted if the tall girl could have found a clue on it if there was any.</p><p> </p><p>Then there were the doll, the outer box, the paint and the mirror… Oh, the Chinese wouldn’t dare mentioning those things in front of Yoohyeon, because long story short, they were dead ends. “There’re tons of places selling those. And even if I couldn’t check, I doubted there would be any fingerprints or anything on them anyway.” was her despondent answer.</p><p> </p><p>So here she was, sitting with her new three, or, actually, four friends at the school canteen, one of them being a little bit too sour after two weeks since that incident’d happened in the backstage.</p><p> </p><p>“You need to eat, Yoohyeonie.” Minji-sunbaenim, who would sometimes pass by and join them for lunch if she had time, patted the tall girl’s shoulder, a recognisable attempt at lifting her mood up a bit. “I understand you want to find out who did this, but not eating doesn’t help.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a hint of guilty in her voice, if the Chinese wasn’t wrong. Well, Yoohyeon didn’t really have much of an appetite these days, and yeah, the eldest’s trust on her being able to find the culprit might put a little bit too much of a burden on the tallest’s no-so-wide shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>And she couldn’t help but throwing a squinted look toward Minji-sunbaenim, only to receive a slight head shaking in response. Handong didn’t say a word, because considering Yoohyeon’s current state…</p><p> </p><p>Ok, she might have a point. Not telling her about <em>that </em>would be better.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not your fault, Minji-unnie.” Stuffing in her full spoon of fried rice, Gahyeon frankly waved her guiltiness off. “She just hates not knowing something after putting so many thoughts on it, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeon’s right.” Nodding, Yubin reconfirmed while still busy peeling off the skin of her beloved goguma. “You’ll get used to it once you know her. She’d be like that even if you didn’t say you counted on her anyway. And you…” She turned toward Yoohyeon, who was still lost deeply in her thought, and handed her half of the peeled roast sweet potato. “Like it or not, I’m not accepting any of your lame excuses, not anymore. Eat up.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl finally cracked out a weak smile. “Thanks.” She mumbled, now received the food given to her, and slowly chewed on it. “Sorry guys, I just… Can’t shake it off my head.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin raised her eyebrows. “You mean the prankster, or the bad feeling about all of this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Both, I guess?” The tall girl nervously said, fingers couldn’t stop knocking on the table surface. “I mean, the first two gifts were only a doll, right? And even though the notion of the messages being sewed to the body of it sounds a little creepy, they weren’t as brutal as this time, were they?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong couldn’t help but agreeing to what she said. And neither could the others. She was stating an obvious fact, after all.</p><p> </p><p>Under the moonlight no sinner could hide…</p><p> </p><p>She had to suppress a slight shiver running through her spine.</p><p> </p><p>“And the most important thing is, with the messages being sewed, no one could trace back the sender’s hand writing, too.” The tallest added, her half goguma was forgotten once again. “I don’t know. I mean, it was just…”</p><p> </p><p>“Frustrating.”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon finished her line, and she nodded. There was a brief moment of silence dropping among the five, and no one could complain about it, despite how uneasy it made all of them feel.</p><p> </p><p>And finally, Minji-sunbaenim couldn’t hold her sigh any longer. “Sorry. I couldn’t give you more information about it…”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine, sunbae.” Yoohyeon flashed out another weak smile. “I mean, you can’t do much about it. It’s been what, more than three months since the first one was sent to you guys? It’s not like you can remember which date it was sent, and do something about Hongbin tearing them apart, or Youngjo throwing them away. I doubted what more I can do even if I know the date, though…”</p><p> </p><p>“But you can find out based on the club registering to use the theatre the same date with Minji-unnie’s club, can’t you?” Gahyeon raised her head up, her food was forgotten, too. “She told you already, the first time, she was with the orchestra club, and the second time was…”</p><p> </p><p>“The vocal club.” Minji nodded, throwing a concerning look toward Yoohyeon. “Any luck at all?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’re a few dates when the orchestra club was practicing with the theatre club on the register book on December, so we’re not really sure which one was the one we’re looking for.” Yubin shook her head. “The second one was easier, the vocal club and the theatre club both registered on the 29th of January only, but as she said, nothing more we can know even if we knew one of the dates, though…”</p><p> </p><p>“Fair enough.” The youngest shrugged. “It wasn’t too long ago, but who would have thought… And that book is for <em>everyone</em> to use, so anyone could have had a look and know exactly what time to send those things, too…”</p><p> </p><p>And all of a sudden, Yoohyeon threw an unreadable gaze toward her hoobae, which surprised the Chinese quite a lot. First of all, she didn’t really think that kind of look could appear in the tallest’s eyes, and second of all…</p><p> </p><p>The silence discussion between she, Yubin, and Gahyeon was something the Chinese couldn’t catch up with. There were warnings, there were slight headshakes, before ending up with the tallest’s sigh of defeat.</p><p> </p><p>Well, this one was new. And to her surprise, she didn’t like the feeling of being… what was the word? Excluded? Yeah, maybe, whatever, like this.</p><p> </p><p>Weird.</p><p> </p><p>No one said another word. Basically, as Handong had thought, yup, that definitely was a complete dead end.</p><p> </p><p>“Should we look at the bright side then?” Minji-sunbaenim, again, was the one tried to break the ice and the uneasiness of the atmosphere. “Nothing happened since then. And we’re allowed to practice again. This might just be another prank, and you know, sometimes, our school kids are not very… kind. And bright.”</p><p> </p><p>Her last comment did break the ice, the Chinese could notice, when the other three friends of her just smile in understanding. And actually, Handong was able to understand it as well. Even at an elite school like Jung Dok, kids at her age could still be rude, arrogant, mean, and dumb. Like, yeah, who was an idiot rumouring her to be one of the teachers’ sugar baby, and bribe herself a place in this school in the first place?</p><p> </p><p>Her standard was always higher than a knowledgeable old man, for God’s sake.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, she hated how people acting like they’d been knowing her for their whole life, even though it was only two weeks since her first day at school. Stupid, ignorance, while pretending to care. So she could partly understand why (and in fact, she was grateful for it, too) Minji-sunbaenim didn’t want to dig up the not-so-nice-rumours about her clubmates. She was too kind for that, even though she claimed it was because she didn’t care about her mates to get to know them more than she already did.</p><p> </p><p>The difference between caring and prying was, ironically, both obvious and oblivious to some extent.</p><p> </p><p>“By the way, Yoohyeonie.” She turned toward the tallest, who started to remember about her food a few seconds ago. “Yonghoon’s looking for someone to operate the lighting system during our play, his hands are pretty full with the sound effects already. You wanna lend us a hand?”</p><p> </p><p>Whether it was intentional or not, Handong could see that Minji-sunbaenim was, finally, able to change the subject.</p><p> </p><p>“Me? Really?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon blinked in disbelief, and so did the other two best friends of hers. Well, that really was a surprise, the Chinese silently hummed. The eldest was asking for such a huge favour, as if she hadn’t witnessed the tallest knocking a half-full glass of juice into her bowl of rice, or tripping while normally walking, or countlessly sending the ground underneath them a kiss with her poor cracked phone screen over the past two weeks.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, you’re good with gaming, aren’t you?” Minji-sunbaenim gently smiled at her, and even if she saw the tallest’s blushing, she didn’t show it out. “Playing with it is pretty much the same as gaming. Easier, even. It’s gonna be fun, too, and Yonghoon will instruct you, no worries. We only got a fixed lighting system, so you won’t have to go and stay on the stage ceiling to actually chase our spots during the play. Just flipping switches on time, nothing complicated.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, with the health and safety rules, we’re not allowed to get up there, and lucky you.” Yubin drily commented. “If that was the case, then I’m pretty sure you would trip over that rusty staircase and miss all the show before you could even operate something from the top…”</p><p> </p><p>“And I wouldn’t ask her to, if that was the case.” The eldest added with a teasing smile, before giving their living tomato a wink. “But there’s always something you can do to help, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“But still, I feel sorry for the guy already…” Gahyeon muttered, which stole a chuckle from both Yubin and Handong’s chest. “Like, seriously, sorry for him. And mind you, I barely had sentiments or sympathy toward anyone in particular.”</p><p> </p><p>“Funny, ‘cause me too.” Yoohyeon admitted, before shyly looking her crush in the eyes. “Well, sunbae, I don’t mind helping, but are you sure I can?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice, Handong noticed. It didn’t appear too frequently, but didn’t really vanish, either. Like a stubborn insect crawling under the skin, and the tall girl just couldn’t shake it off, as simple as it sounded.</p><p> </p><p>But Minji-sunbaenim was really good at easing people’s worry, intentional or not.</p><p> </p><p>“Like I said, I wouldn’t ask if I think you couldn’t.” She shrugged, and beamed another signature sunshiny smile of hers at Yoohyeon. “And believe it or not, I happen to be very good at assessing what people can or can’t do.”</p><p> </p><p>That, literally, had sent the tallest’s spirit straight to the sky. Well, the Chinese couldn’t blame her for that. If Minji-sunbaenim, with that more than beautiful face, looked at Handong with so much trust and care, then yeah, she might fall in the same state as Yoohyeon did, right now.</p><p> </p><p>“So… What are you saying?”</p><p> </p><p>“I, er… Sure, I mean, why not? Oh shit.” She dropped the sweet potato in hand to the table, met Gahyeon’s unbelieving headshake, before turning back to face the eldest’s gentle smile. “I mean, if you’re not scared of me screwing up, then why should I be, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sweet.” Minji-sunbaenim nodded. “I’ll let Yonghoon know and text you the practice schedule later.” And looked at her watch. “Oh, sorry guys, I gotta go, now. I’m almost late for my class already…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon, clearly nervous and anticipating at the thought of receiving her crush’s text, could only said. “Sure, sunbae…”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll catch up with you later.” Yubin waved her hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Bye unnie.”</p><p> </p><p>“See you this afternoon, sunbae.”</p><p> </p><p>Then, particularly grinning at <em>someone</em>, Minji-sunbaenim gave Handong a nod, before rushing out of the canteen.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese’s gaze stuck on her back for a while, then landed on Yoohyeon’s stupor state. Had Minji-sunbaenim realised that this puppy was having a giant crush on her or not? She was pretty obvious though, if Handong had to admit. She wouldn’t be surprised if the elder girl noticed, but it was hard telling whether she did or didn’t.</p><p> </p><p>Well, that didn’t matter for now. There was another thing that was much clearer to the Chinese, though.</p><p> </p><p>Her gaze now moved on to Yoohyeon’s shining with happiness face.</p><p> </p><p>She hoped this puppy wasn’t too dense to notice that the softness in the eldest eyes only appeared when Minji-sunbaenim was looking at her. She knew this girl was dense, but she couldn’t be <em>that </em>dense, could she?</p><p> </p><p>And judging the concern look on Yubin’s face, she dared saying that she wasn’t the only one seeing through all of… this. It was kinda obvious, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“She likes you.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon matter-of-factly pulled Yoohyeon from her own fantasy to reality, conveniently proved Handong’s thought of not being alone in being… uhm… not oblivious.</p><p> </p><p>And the tallest’s stupidly puzzled look was kinda cute. Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>“Eh?” She blurted in disbelief. “Who?”</p><p> </p><p>Ok, the Chinese silently took back her own thought. This puppy was dense, indeed. Or blind, to be more precise.</p><p> </p><p>“Minji-unnie, of course.” Gahyeon impatiently said. “Who else can, anyway?”</p><p> </p><p>That turned Yoohyeon into a living statue.</p><p> </p><p>“I know, I know…” The youngest snorted, but she didn’t seem to be as annoyed as she sounded. “I don’t wanna believe in it either. So fucking unbelievable, I mean, you really are an idiot, and she’s…”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon waved her hand vaguely to describe what she meant. And Handong understood. Even though she’d known her for merely two weeks, she knew that Minji-sunbaenim was really something. Smart, in terms of both intelligence and emotion, gentle, caring, always gave out a comforting and confident vibe? That kind of girl was more than just attractive.</p><p> </p><p>“… but well, it’s the truth.” She headed back to her tray of food. “She definitely likes you.”</p><p> </p><p>A moment of loading that much information into Yoohyeon’s insanely weird brain.</p><p> </p><p>“Really? You’re sure?” She broke out of her statue mode. “Like, a hundred percent sure?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” The youngest rolled her eyes in frustration. “Can you let me be nice for once in a while?”</p><p> </p><p>And returned to her statue mode in a blink. Handong shrugged. Really, it wasn’t hard to read this puppy’s thoughts, if she wasn’t thinking about things could be explained by logic. Actually, the Chinese even considered the fact that her wire had been toasted because of this overloading information already.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Gahyeonie.” Fixing her gaze on her best friend, Yubin drily stated. “For freezing her here in happiness.” Then a sigh. “You could have waited until she’s home. I don’t wanna carry her back to the class, or worse, her house, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait.” Handong raised an eyebrow at the short haired. “You’re not objecting this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why should I?” Yubin carefreely shrugged. “Minji-unnie’s a good girl. She’s smart, effortlessly funny, creative, and treats people nicely. A little bit too good to be true, if you ask me. As long as they’re not too obvious and let the whole school knows, which Minji-unnie would be able to, then it’s all good.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re speaking like she’s perfect, but no, don’t buy that, Dong-unnie.” Gahyeon spoke with a mouth full of rice. “At least, not all of her creation’s <em>that </em>good, though.” Muffled, she swallowed down the food, then made a rather constructive comment. “Remember the ‘What’s in my bag?’ series she made for everyone in her club and that bitch Jeon Jiwoo? I won’t call it entertaining no matter how much I like her.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon immediately unfroze.</p><p> </p><p>“As a friend.” The youngest gave out a sigh. “For fucking God’s sake. But don’t hope too much though. She might just like you more than a friend only…”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for the heads up <em>after </em>telling me such a big news.” Her spirit bubble was flattened in a single heartbeat. “But that’s more believable, so I’m taking it anyway. Besides…” Suddenly remembering something, she pouted with a deep frown. “Your standard’s way too high, you know?” She exclaimed. “I like her channel. And she’s already gotten nearly a thousand subscribers in only three months, mind you. Her vlogs are daebak, really.”</p><p> </p><p>“I just dislike that series.” The youngest frankly said. “The rest of her YouTube contents are fine, though. And don’t say anymore. I know you’re one of those subscribers liking whatever she posts already. No need to show off to the whole world, my friend.”</p><p> </p><p>“But Jiwoo’s episode is next week…” The tallest didn’t give up. “How do you know you won’t like it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything relating to that bitch?” Gahyeon snorted in disgust. “I dislike. The only exception would be her music, to be honest. They’re annoyingly good.” She stopped for a second. “Fuck. Now I can’t get the stupid intro out of my head. Again.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong and Yubin just chuckled. Well, that made sense, though. The Chinese couldn’t help but throwing a glance toward the table in the centre of the canteen. Jeon Jiwoo was sitting with her gang, but didn’t really focus on what they said. She was busy writing something into her blue notebook, and although Handong hated it, she was in awe.</p><p> </p><p>Except for having nasty personality, her ability to focus was on another level if that girl was able to work on her song in this noisy crowd, she must say.</p><p> </p><p>Just like Yoohyeon said, she worked really hard. Which was kind of annoying.</p><p> </p><p>But there was something… the Chinese couldn’t help but wondering. She looked at the four of them, then looked back at the table where Jeon Jiwoo was sitting.</p><p> </p><p>“But isn’t she Kim Chanmi’s friend? Why aren’t they together?”</p><p> </p><p>“Who knows…” Chewing on her forgotten goguma, the tallest slowly muttered. “There’re tons of girls claiming someone as their BFFs today, fighting because of some stupid reasons, and turning into enemies the next twenty-four hours. Sometimes I can’t understand human, really…”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the marvellous speech from the weirdest person in house, ladies and gentlemen.” Gahyeon showed out a don’t-know-what-to-say face before glaring at Yubin and Handong. “What are you waiting for? Can I have an applause, please?”</p><p> </p><p>She had a piece of uncrumpled tissue thrown at her instead.</p><p> </p><p>And the thrower could only watch the paper fly halfway through. Then she, for no reason, decided to cosplay a living tomato in the middle of the canteen.</p><p> </p><p>Which made Gahyeon frown. Deeply. And Handong didn’t have to have mind-reading superpower to know what the youngest was thinking, because she was pretty sure they were both having the same question right now.</p><p> </p><p>How could Yoohyeon <em>not </em>crumple a piece of paper before throwing, and still hoped that it would find the target she aimed at? And that was the second time in the last two weeks already.</p><p> </p><p>“You deal with her.” Gahyeon slowly shook her head at Yubin, hands were in the air. “I give up.” Then she glimpsed at her phone. “Oh shit, I’m late already.” Before hastily stood up. “Hey Yoo, aren’t you late too? It’s five past already.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha… Shit!” The tallest cursed after glancing at her own phone. “Shit.shit.shit.shit.shit. Hey Binnie, throw the trash for me this time, please? I’ll make it up for you later on…”</p><p> </p><p>“Just move your ass, idiot, she’ll take care of everything without needing you to ask.” The youngest protested before realising something. “Hey, that’s not your bag, that’s <em>mine</em>!”</p><p> </p><p>And with that, they loudly left Handong and Yubin, who were staring at each other before shrugging in unison, behind.</p><p> </p><p>Then came a few minutes of silence falling in between the other two. Not that the Chinese minded, though. She wasn’t a fan of noisy places, and even though she liked hanging out with Yoohyeon and Gahyeon, she still needed some quiet time like this.</p><p> </p><p>And Yubin’s company didn’t make her uncomfortable. Not at all.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re really loud, aren’t they?” The short haired suddenly said with a chuckle. “Sometimes, I feel like I can’t get used to being quiet after being friends with those twos…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong couldn’t hold back a giggle. “Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Both, I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese nodded in understanding. Even though she still wanted to have some time for herself, she could empathise with what her friend said.</p><p> </p><p>Human being could adapt to anything, as long as they wanted, that was all.</p><p> </p><p>“And, by the way…”</p><p> </p><p>She turned toward her friend, the smile on her face slowly faded. Yubin’s unreadable expression seemed a little bit… odd.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but do you wanna tell me what happened to either you or Minji-sunbaenim?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong froze, her mind was rewinding to the part where she and the eldest were making that silent conversation, surprising gaze fixed on the short haired’s firm brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>She noticed?</p><p> </p><p>Damn.</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Unnie, why didn’t you tell us anything about it?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong uneasily shifted when receiving Minji-sunbaenim’s accusing gaze. But she didn’t avert her eyes from hers. She’d promised her to not tell Yoohyeon, and clearly, Yubin wasn’t Yoohyeon. The only thing in common they had was the same middle name, but even the romanisation was different.</p><p> </p><p>So technically, she didn’t eat her own words, so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>And oh, the eldest girl looked so pure and fine in this white gown. Elegant, expensive, and breath-taking.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Yoohyeon surely had good eyes and tastes.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I don’t think it was the prankster last time.” Minji-sunbaenim finally let out a heavy sigh. “And Yoohyeon was already overloaded with her study and everything. And no.” She replied before Yubin could ask the next question. “Dongie knew because she was there with me at the same time, that’s it. I didn’t really want her to know either. Seriously, Yubin, it’s nothing. Just a ripped backpack. And someone was sending a note saying something about me being useless as a leader, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired’s lips turned into a white line, which was quite understandable.</p><p> </p><p>“But… At least, she might find out who did that to you…”</p><p> </p><p>“And what else should I do after knowing that?”</p><p> </p><p>The eldest’s question was never answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, you got it.” She smiled, and Handong was sure Yubin, just like her, wouldn’t miss that flash of tiredness across her abnormally beautiful face. “Nothing much. I could ask for a compensation and an apology, but that’s all. And I don’t need it. I still have a back-up one back home, so yeah, it’s fine, really.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese’s gaze landed on her new backpack. It was the same model with Jiwoo’s backpack, which explained Minji-sunbaenim’s reluctance when having to use it.</p><p> </p><p>“Besides, it can be one of the Hongbin’s fanclub members.” She teasingly added, and the joke seemed more natural this time. “He’s just added quite a lot more fans with the teaser photos being released on our Facebook page and Twitter account, and clearly, having a pretty face doesn’t help much if I get to play the heroine, right?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired didn’t say anything back. But not for long. After about a minute of staring battle, it was her turn to let out a heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“I hate this, but you have a point.” She glared at the eldest’s mischievous grin. “And that joke’s not funny.”</p><p> </p><p>“Strange.” The Chinese scratched her chin, conveniently reminded these twos of her existence. “You’re the one telling me she was effortlessly funny in, say, four hours ago, aren’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin’s glare was now fixed on Handong wicked grin. “Shut up.” She mumbled, face slightly dyed in red when Minji-sunbaenim laughed out loud. “I slipped, that’s it. Not…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Minji, you’re here? Where’s Kyuhyun?”</p><p> </p><p>The three of them turned around, and the Chinese could clearly see the relief on Yubin’s face, even if she was cut off in a not so gentle way.</p><p> </p><p>“Gain-seonsaengnim?” The eldest quickly gave her a bow. “He’s checking all the costumes and props with Yonghoon and Yujin in the back. Can I help you with anything?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” The teacher quickly shook her head. “We’re done for today. A little bit earlier, so I just wanna tell Kyuhyun that your club can use the stage anytime you want.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin’s slight frown and Minji-sunbaenim’s confused look told Handong that this situation was something neither of them had expected.</p><p> </p><p>“Is something wrong, seonsaengnim?”</p><p> </p><p>The senior finally found the courage to ask, and this time, a string of concern beamed across Gain-seonsaengnim’s sharp feature.</p><p> </p><p>“Chanmi’s not really fine, I think. She’s been making lots of mistakes, and she kept missing her spots on the stage.” Shaking her head, the teacher quietly said. “Nearly half a meter this time, and our spotlights are not that wide to cover for her if she keeps missing it.”</p><p> </p><p>The three of them just nodded in understanding. Performing on a theatre stage was no jokes. Positions and transitions must be taken with extreme precise. Missing the spotlight actually wasn’t that bad, considering falling from the stage was a much more severe consequence. But… Kim Chanmi? The ace of the dance club? An experienced performer making that kind of amateur mistake?</p><p> </p><p>No wonder why Gain-seonsaengnim was worried. Her eyes scanned all three of them like an X-ray. A soft one, sure, but still made the Chinese quite uneasy.</p><p> </p><p>“Do any of you guys know anything? She seemed troubled, and she’s never been like that before…”</p><p> </p><p>The three of them shook their head in return. To be honest, Handong didn’t care that much about that girl, even though she was her classmate. She’d been paler recently, yes, but the Chinese was avoiding her quite well, especially after one time she’d poured all of her anger, only God knew where it’d come from, on another classmate of hers.</p><p> </p><p>And the poor girl’d been found crying in the bathroom for more than an hour. Or so she heard.</p><p> </p><p>Anyway, that wasn’t the point. The points were, well, she admitted that Kim Chanmi, in the last two weeks, was nothing but fine, and no, she had completely no idea why she’d been in that state. She didn’t care enough to wanna know.</p><p> </p><p>But now, strangely, Handong’s brain sudden recalled the face of her mentioned classmate.</p><p> </p><p>The girl in her imagination looked like she was standing on the edge of an abyss, being left alone with the fear of falling down.</p><p> </p><p>That thought, or image, or assumption made her frown. Why did she even use that phrase by the way?</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I guess so, too.” Gain-seonsaengnim let out a heavy sigh. “Anyway, she’ll pull through. That girl’s tough, I’m sure. We still have nearly two weeks until the grand rehearsal night for her to recover.” Gain-seonsaengnim’s tone sounded like she was convincing herself rather than reassuring any of them. “I need to go now. Enjoy your day, guys.” She smiled at Minji-sunbaenim. “And break a leg.”</p><p> </p><p>Then left after they bowed her a goodbye.</p><p> </p><p>Another moment of silence falling among them, while the three just exchanging confusing looks.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this just me, or there’re really a lot of things going on lately?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe it’s just you.” Minji-sunbaenim sighed at Handong’s obvious question before turning to the short haired. “And don’t tell Yoohyeon any of this, got it?”</p><p> </p><p>She reluctantly nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Oh well.</p><p> </p><p>There was no reason for Yubin to tell Yoohyeon what happened anyway.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yubin told Yoohyeon what happened.</p><p> </p><p>Ok, Handong admitted, that was just an exaggeration. The short haired told the tallest some things, and held back some other things. The incident with Minji-sunbaenim’s maliciously ripped backpack was well buried, of course, but the thing happened to the dance club, or Kim Chanmi, in particular, was revealed in the next few days.</p><p> </p><p>“So she can temporarily forget about that prankster for once.” was Yubin’s unquestionable answer.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese just nodded, but she wasn’t totally satisfied. Not with her friend’s explanation, no. It was just…</p><p> </p><p>After telling the other two what happened, the Chinese could easily see her three friends were having that kind of secret discussion, again. She was upset, for sure, even though she had completely no idea why she’d been pissed of being excluded, but whatever. Not that she didn’t want to ask them, though. And maybe, no, she was at least eighty percent sure they would answer her question, if she ever raised one.</p><p> </p><p>But Gahyeon’s desperately pleading eyes made her swallow that damn question down to her stomach. She was still uneasy, of course, so she was kind of grateful for Yoohyeon’s attempt at changing the subject.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, at least that explains why Minji-sunbaenim’s having such big dark circles under her eyes lately.”</p><p> </p><p>Which was true. Even though the eldest still smiled and teased and laughed at Yoohyeon’s lame jokes whenever she could pass by their lunch table, Handong couldn’t miss those dark circles around her shining eyes. The poor girl must have been suffering from insomnia recently, and considering the pressure of being a senior student, the theatre club leader, <em>and </em>the school’s pride, not to mention some kind of out of the blue dramas, no wonder why even she couldn’t hide that tiredness anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think there’s anything I can do for her?” The tallest concernedly asked. “I mean, I don’t like seeing her like that… Damn it…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I know…” Gahyeon loudly yawned. “Just gift her what she needs: a proper dose of sleeping pills for a good night sleep, that’ll do for sure.”</p><p> </p><p>Neither Handong nor Yubin laughed. Sure, her joke was kind of funny and obvious, but when the two of them thinking about the possibility of Yoohyeon could actually follow that hell-of-a-kind advise…</p><p> </p><p>“Essence will be better though.” The short haired quickly interfered before this puppy could consider accepting Gahyeon’s suggestion. “Lavender, mint, or lemongrass can help improving sleep quality quite a lot…” Then, she suddenly remembered something. “If you’re not broke.”</p><p> </p><p>“Which I am.” The tall girl bit her bottom lips. “And I’m not asking my unnie for more pocket money, so sleeping pills will be more practical…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese froze at her a-hundred-percent-solemn face. Damn, how could she, like, seriously, even consider <em>that </em>as a possible option?</p><p> </p><p>“Hey… You do know I was just joking about it, right?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest asked in uncertainty, but Yoohyeon didn’t answered her question.</p><p> </p><p>Shoot. This wasn’t a good sign, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>“How about making her a handmade dreamcatcher then?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong blurted out all of a sudden. Gahyeon seemed to nearly laugh, but luckily, Yubin was there to elbowed her rib as a not-so-friendly reminder.</p><p> </p><p>“A dreamcatcher?” The tallest tilted her head. “Not a very usable one, is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“She’ll be touched. It’s <em>your</em> craft, after all.” The Chinese tried to force out the most genuine smile she had. “And yeah, you’ll never know, right? If she could relax when seeing it, then maybe, she can sleep more soundly? Right, Yubin?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, Dongie’s right.” The short haired quickly backed her up. “And we’ll help you, so don’t worry about messing it up. Besides, hand-made crafts are more meaningful, too. What’s the point in gifting her something everyone can buy with dollars?”</p><p> </p><p>Even Gahyeon agreed on helping (pretty reluctantly, but Handong didn’t think she really was that reluctant), but Yoohyeon still had that uncertain knitted eyebrows on her face. “I’ll think about it.” was her final answer.</p><p> </p><p>The three of them couldn’t help but exchanging worrying looks.</p><p> </p><p>God blessed Minji-sunbaenim if she really received a pack of sleeping pills as a sincere gift one day.</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------</p><p>Lucky for Minji-sunbaenim, she wouldn’t have to receive that pack of sleeping pills.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, but after a night of carefully thinking, she came to this conclusion.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t calculate how much is a proper dose. And there’ll be unpredictable side effects as well, so yeah, let’s go with that sentimental dreamcatcher thingy then.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong almost cursed after hearing the tallest’s reasoning. Even if she was kind enough to exclude the fact that sleeping pills were <em>not </em>a proper present, can someone please tell her, why on Earth had this girl had to spend a whole night just to come to that obvious conclusion?</p><p> </p><p>But well, the Chinese exhaled to remain her calmness, if she looked at the bright sides, at least now, Yoohyeon seemed pretty happy to try making something she wasn’t too good at. Sure, she was slow, and none of them had any experience in making handmade dreamcatcher, but still.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes were good. And believed it or not, she had pretty good sense in terms of… uhm… beauty, in general.</p><p> </p><p>And she was genuine, too.</p><p> </p><p>Looking at the way Yoohyeon carefully wrapped the leather string on the wooden circle, how she attentively knitted the string to form an actual net, how hard she frowned at her work when a particle wasn’t inserted to the right place, and how she insisted on doing it all by her own, Handong, for the first time in her life, finally knew how envy toward someone else tasted like.</p><p> </p><p>And she knew she wasn’t the only one having that kind of feeling, especially when she met Gahyeon’s shrug and Yubin’s understanding smile.</p><p> </p><p>Minji-sunbaenim was a lucky girl indeed.</p><p> </p><p>Oh well, that was what she thought before looking at the nervous and terrified Yoohyeon standing in front of her in the middle sitting row of the theatre, chickening out for the forty-fourth time, according to Yubin, in disbelief. Maybe she wasn’t that envious of the eldest after all. The girl might be luckier if her future girlfriend wasn’t a perfectionist to remake a single dreamcatcher eight-hundred-and-thirty-three times in two weeks, and…</p><p> </p><p>“That makes it forty-fifth time already.”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired rubbed the index finger against her temple. Oh yes, the Chinese forgot to add this time, too. What a record, really.</p><p> </p><p>“I bet she’ll reach the sixtieth, at least.” Gahyeon helplessly shook her head. “But seriously, you wanna wait until she finishes her play <em>then </em>giving her your sincere and care? Sure, tonight’s the grand rehearsal only, audiences are all students running kiosks during the big fes, and ok, there’re no spectators and scouters, but don’t you think she’ll still be needing a little bit of encouraging, too?”</p><p> </p><p>Fidgeting her own fingers, Yoohyeon nervously looked around, and Handong could totally feel her. This crowd here tonight, even though it was only a rehearsal performed for anyone would miss it on the official Spring Festival day, was too big for her taste.</p><p> </p><p>And judging from the banners and screams, the most two enormous fandoms clearly belonged to the dance club and the theatre club, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“There’re so many people around her, you know? I can’t even find her being alone for more than ten seconds…”</p><p> </p><p>“Ask her to go to the toilet with you then.” Yubin kindly suggested. “Or somewhere else that’s not too crowded. But you have to <em>ask </em>her, my friend. How’s she supposed to know if you’re too afraid to say a word? And you’re not confessing anything now, so what are you afraid of?”</p><p> </p><p>“Good point…” The tallest mumbled. “I can just say that this is a gift from a friend to a friend, right? She won’t suspect anything, will she?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll be fine.” Bluntly kicking her doubt of Minji-sunbaenim being oblivious to the back of her head, Handong patted the tallest’s forehand, softly reassured. “Just relax, and be you. You alone are more than enough. And you have us, even if the worst case happened, ok? Your heart won’t be broken for long, that I can guarantee.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon looked at them in the eyes, one by one, as if she wanted to have some sort of confirmation for what Handong’d said. But Yubin and Gahyeon’s firm nods were more than enough. That had cracked a nervous smile out of her lips, and at this moment, that was something the Chinese could gladly accept in the meantime.</p><p> </p><p>“Not very encouraging and tempting, but… Okay.” She inhaled, then exhaled. “I’m going now. No more running away. Wish me luck?”</p><p> </p><p>“As if I haven’t been doing just that every single day.” The youngest sarcastically mocked, eyes moved back to the stage, partly watched the orchestra club preparing for their incoming performance. “But I guess I’ll be nice and pray for whatever Gods out there to grand you some more lucks, if that can make you stop getting back here without giving her anything ever again.”</p><p> </p><p>The tallest’s smile got wider, and for the first time, Handong could see a string of determination flashing in those pure brown eyes. Then she nodded, mumbled a quiet thanks to three of them, and left.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese’s eyes fixed on her tall figure, which was quickly getting lost in the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>And her chest suddenly felt… strange. Or, okay, she admitted, it wasn’t a sudden. Not at all.</p><p> </p><p>Her restlessness had been rooting in her chest since the moment she’d gotten here tonight. She didn’t realise it at first because it wasn’t too obvious, but apparently, it kept growing to a stage that she couldn’t ignore it anymore.</p><p> </p><p>Which was now.</p><p> </p><p>It was hard to explain. She was sure it had nothing to do with her being in love with either Yoohyeon or Minji-sunbaenim. Well, she wouldn’t say this out loud, but she loved them, of course, but it was not like… how could she put it? A girlfriend-girlfriend kind of love?</p><p> </p><p>Then yet… She was… uneasy. When seeing Yoohyeon’s thin frame being devoured by the crowd in this familiar theatre.</p><p> </p><p>Like there was an urge ignited in her chest, making her restless and nervous. As if Yoohyeon’s nervousness had been transferred to her instead of fading away. Or was it the tallest’s worry combining with her own edginess.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyebrows were knitted into a straight line.</p><p> </p><p>An urge?</p><p> </p><p>Okay… But to do what?</p><p> </p><p>Handong couldn’t answer. The only thing she could do now was…</p><p> </p><p>“I really wish everything will be alright…”</p><p> </p><p>It was only a blurt, but she was sure she didn’t show any nervousness or something like that out. And yet…</p><p> </p><p>“I know.” Nodding, Yubin patted on the Chinese’s shoulders, like she’d noticed her anxiety and reassured. “Trust me, we all do.”</p><p> </p><p>She turned around, and met both Yubin and Gahyeon in the eye.</p><p> </p><p>Yeah…</p><p> </p><p>No matter what happened, everything would be alright.</p><p> </p><p>Right?</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway…” The youngest raised her voice as an attempt to break this weirdly stuffy atmosphere, and change the subject even though there wasn’t a real one yet. “Don’t you think the orchestra club is doing pretty well, Dong-unnie?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong’s attention got back to the masterpiece they were playing on stage. A risky choice, she would say. Such a difficult piece, and requiring a lot of skills like this could make it or break it. Either showing off their talents, or mercilessly destroyed every practice effort, so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>And Gahyeon was right.</p><p> </p><p>They made it. The staccato, the staccato volante, the harmonisation, everything. Beautifully played, to a level she would dream to be able to reach.</p><p> </p><p>Handong closed her eyes, let the intensity of the rhythm temporarily wash away her own uneasiness.</p><p> </p><p>Or multiply by several times, to a level she couldn’t acknowledge it. Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s the name of this song, by the way?”</p><p> </p><p>“This one?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh yes, she silently hummed. Gahyeon’s question did remind her of something.</p><p> </p><p>“Giuseppe Tartini’s Trillo de Diavolo…”</p><p> </p><p>Yeah… Maybe she was restless because of this intense melody without her self-notice. And yes, most definitely because of its name, too.</p><p> </p><p>“The Devil’s Trill Sonata…”</p><p> </p><p>She mumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“Funny…”</p><p> </p><p>Before giving out a faint smile.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s always the Devil having the best taste, isn’t it?”</p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p>They closed their eyes, allowed their ears to hungrily devour the beautiful sound of this masterpiece. They could hear joys. They could hear hopes. They could hear glees.</p><p> </p><p>They could hear joys, hopes, and glees cracking.</p><p> </p><p>They could hear joys, hopes, and glees breaking into a million pieces.</p><p> </p><p>Leaving behind nothing but pain, hurt, self-pity, and rages no one could ever control or suppress.</p><p> </p><p>How irony. And how coincident, too.</p><p> </p><p>As if the piece was speaking on their behalf. Stirring up old memories. All the memories that they couldn’t forget, even if they wanted to.</p><p> </p><p>And the fire of wrath was ignited once again. Smouldered. Flared up. Threatened to burn everything on its way into pure ashes.</p><p> </p><p>But they didn’t allow them to keep falling into this intense melody. They shouldn’t give in for personal emotion state. Emotion was an unreliable friend. At the time when failure wasn’t allowed, it was a must to trust nothing but their own thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>Calm down.</p><p> </p><p>They inhaled deeply.</p><p> </p><p>That’s right. But don’t throw away the rage.</p><p> </p><p>Exhaled.</p><p> </p><p>Hold it in. Cover it up.</p><p> </p><p>Inhaled.</p><p> </p><p>The moment to release all of this would come.</p><p> </p><p>Exhaled.</p><p> </p><p>And they opened their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Their gaze devoured the image of that sinner. Her slightly shaking shoulders in nervous. Her clenched fists in worry. But her fear was nowhere to be seen. They did wonder, though. Was it covered too well underneath those make-up, or she finally could get rid of that fear she’d been suffering from?</p><p> </p><p>Whatever the case… With her fear being overcome…</p><p> </p><p>They held back a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Good.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Don’t you dare fail me this time…</em>
</p><p>----------------------------------------------------</p><p>It wasn’t because of the Sonata.</p><p> </p><p>Someone from the vocal club was covering a rock version of ‘EXO – Overdose’ on stage now, and Handong was still restless. More than ever. And she couldn’t understand why. Her nape was stinging. Her spine was shivering. She couldn’t concentrate on the performance, even though the singer’s vocal and the new arrangement of her favourite song were definitely her taste.</p><p> </p><p>“Dongie, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin concernedly asked. And Gahyeon, too, was looking at her with unhidden worry in her clear brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, she couldn’t give them a proper answer, no matter how hard she tried to think about it.</p><p> </p><p>How could she, if she didn’t even know the answer herself?</p><p> </p><p>Handong said nothing. Even though she knew that Yubin and Gahyeon were waiting for her to reassure them that everything was fine, but unfortunately, that was the only thing she wasn’t capable of doing at this exact moment.</p><p> </p><p>So she just shook her head, and tried to focus on the stage, again. At least, now, her ears were able to welcome this sound echoing throughout the theatre. The only sound she was so familiar with, the sound kept sticking on her head a few days after she’d listened to it for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>The sound of pipe organ. Of Paradise Lost.</p><p> </p><p>It was Kim Chanmi’s turn.</p><p> </p><p>Her finger suddenly twitched.</p><p> </p><p>Handong tried to suppress this feeling. Again.</p><p> </p><p>And she failed. Again.</p><p> </p><p>She felt like she couldn’t hold this urge to do something any longer.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes fixed on her classmate’s tempting movements right from the beginning.</p><p> </p><p>What?</p><p>-----------------------------------------------</p><p>They looked down. Their eyes stuck on the sinner under their feet.</p><p> </p><p>So… She couldn’t conceal herself well, could she?</p><p> </p><p>They doubted if she could, though.</p><p> </p><p>Another memory flashed through their mind. And they couldn’t help but smiling at it.</p><p> </p><p>Indeed. They were the moon at its brightest, after all.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>And Chanmi, Chanmi, Chanmi dear…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Her perfect movement. Her perfect body lines. Her perfect strength. And her perfect position under the spotlight.</p><p> </p><p>The rage they held inside their chest burst out.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>You didn’t fail me this time, so it seems…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>They took out a pair of cable cutter from their sleeve, its black blades were perfectly blending into the dark. So were their icy eyes. And the inextinguishable killing will smouldering in those bottomless depth pupils.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I’m proud. So now…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The blades were moved toward its target.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Goodluck. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>And cut off the wire.</p><p>------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Handong could finally push her restlessness down.</p><p> </p><p>That was when Kim Chanmi’s performance was near halfway through. The exact moment when Yoohyeon stood in front of them once again. No more clenching at the poor handcraft that wasn’t in her hand anymore. No more fidgeting with her thin fingers. No more nervousness. No more terror. Just an unbearable sadness in those teary puppy eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I…”</p><p> </p><p>She seemed to be at lost. Of words. Of thoughts. Of everything. She might try to explain what happened, but the Chinese doubted if she could do just that. Or even worse, if she wanted to do just that.</p><p> </p><p>She might be here just because she was afraid that she would make them worried. Which they would be anyway, considering none of them was expecting to see her in this state.</p><p> </p><p>“I… Minji…”</p><p> </p><p>She was in the middle of looking for words.</p><p> </p><p>Then the falling stage lights brutally destroyed everything.</p><p> </p><p>The crowd’s excitement. Yoohyeon’s effort. Handong, Yubin, and Gahyeon’s million questions, and…</p><p> </p><p>“Chanmi!”</p><p> </p><p>She heard someone calling her name among the solemn sound of pipe organ.</p><p> </p><p>Then she heard someone calling out when the music was finally stopped.</p><p> </p><p>“Somebody calls an ambulance!”</p><p> </p><p>She still remembered the feeling of vibration underneath her feet a second ago. She heard the crowd screaming in terror and cornering the stage. She saw Yoohyeon being devoured by the crowd once again when getting toward the incident. She felt her feet automatically followed her friend’s suite for no reason. She felt Yubin’s and Gahyeon’s arms linking with her, saved her from being suffocated when they tried to squeeze themselves through this narrow crowd, and get to the tallest’s place as soon as they could.</p><p> </p><p>And there they were. Panting, by the stage.</p><p> </p><p>Where the slim body of Kim Chanmi being mercilessly crushed by at least a-hundred-kilogram stage lights frame, straight from her left shoulder to her right hip. Where her once passionate eyes were now dull and lifeless. Where her beautiful face was frozen forever in sweat and blood underneath the broken spotlight. Where the angle of the fallen frame had made her hand rise up in the air, as if she was trying to reach for the stars shining above, the beautiful night sky, and the full moon she could no longer look at.</p><p> </p><p>Not anymore, because…</p><p> </p><p>“Yubin, call the police too.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong heard Yoohyeon’s calm voice calling from somewhere ahead.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s dead.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ok, so... We have our first victim (finally :v) I guess the beginning of the chapter was kinda long... But as an author, I'll have to use the excuse of wanting to include necessary information into those parts, so...</p><p>But well, I do like the last scene, though. How about you guys? </p><p>If there's anything you would like to ask me in private, here's my Twitter https://twitter.com/home</p><p>And cc: https://curiouscat.qa/Deukaenology</p><p>Or else, please give this baby of mine a lot of love, too *mimic DeuKae's voice*</p><p>Until next time~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. "Where the heck did this asshole go?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, I'm not too sure why, but suddenly, I got a Siyeon in doctor outfit dancing 'Odd Eye' while writing a fanfic with her being a doctor, and now, I got 7 of them throwing uncrumpled tissues as the contest while writing Yoohyeon throwing uncrumpled tissue to Gahyeon and Yubin?</p><p>I'm a successful Insomnia, ladies and gentlemen. Now I can die in happiness.</p><p>As usual, I'd love to listen to your feedbacks and kudos of all kind, and please, enjoy your next chapter :"&gt;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoohyeon rarely spoke about this, but she thought if there would ever be a prize for the most anxious person in the world, she could be the most promising candidate to win it, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>Which meant she tended to think too much, worry too much, expect too much, and disappoint too easily. That was also a reason why she admired Taeyeon-unnie even more than she already did. Her unnie had mastered the art of not giving a fuck to anything since a long time ago, and it was really frustrating that she, despite being a younger sister of such an awesome human being, couldn’t be as good as her elder sibling, even just a half.</p><p> </p><p>She still worried too much. And expected things to be… more than how things really were in reality.</p><p> </p><p>And yet…</p><p> </p><p>Not even in her wildest dream she would expect tonight to turn into <em>this </em>mess.</p><p> </p><p>Forget about what happened between she and Minji-sunbaenim (which she would gladly to but obviously couldn’t), she could never imagine there would be a day when she actually witnessed someone dying before her very own eyes. It might not be the most horrible death, not at all, considering Kim Chanmi’d died in an instance, so she hadn’t had to suffer from pre-dying pains, fears, thoughts, and assumptions, but still.</p><p> </p><p>The scene shook Yoohyeon to the core.</p><p> </p><p>It was only a minute. This girl was still passionately dancing just a minute ago. Or even less. Still alive, lively, devoted herself to the performance. But now…</p><p> </p><p>Fuck. How could Taeyeon-unnie and Yuri-unnie handle this nausea feeling when seeing people dying like this, from time to time? It sickened her to the stomach. The smell of blood. The way the girl was bending her back to the floor while dancing, only to be crushed by this heavy giant steel frame by accident.</p><p> </p><p>And… It might be her imagination only, but…</p><p> </p><p>In those lifeless eyes… Was that the desire to <em>live </em>frozen inside?</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon averted her eyes, gaze aimed at anywhere but the warm dead body of the poor girl. The logical part of her brain had ordered Yubin to call the police, but the sentimental part…</p><p> </p><p>She pressed her lips.</p><p> </p><p>Shit. She had wanted some kind of distractions, ok, but this? This was an absolute no no.</p><p> </p><p>And… What the hell had just happened? She knew that this theatre was old, but at Jung Dok High, there had never been any kind of accidents, like, at all, even before she’d gotten into this school, or not that she’d heard of. And even if it was an accident… The stage was <em>huge</em>. How bad luck could Chanmi…</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl suddenly went rigid.</p><p> </p><p>Luck?</p><p> </p><p>Her brain automatically flashed an image used to haunt her a few weeks before. Of a doll carrying a broken mirror. Of a threatening message terribly written as a gift sent last month. <em>Goodluck</em>, it said.</p><p> </p><p>Goodluck…</p><p> </p><p>Terrified, she turned her head and looked around, hoping for something to prove that she was dead wrong.</p><p> </p><p>But her eyes caught it. The evidence proving that her hunch was right in the worst possible time ever.</p><p> </p><p>The clean, sharp, and pointy end of the ruptured lights frame hanging cable.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Fuck.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Then her ears got it, too. A faint sound of metal cranking, with a rhythm like footsteps, very subtle among the buzzing noise of terrified discussion occurring around her, from somewhere…</p><p> </p><p>Above?</p><p> </p><p>She raised her head, eyes squinted, hoped to be able to see something in the dark.</p><p> </p><p>And widely opened. Yubin’s words on the other day hit her head like a hammer. Shit. Why didn’t she think of that before? Up there, close to the ceiling was the metal pathway built for technicians to hang the stage lights and maintain the lighting system when needed.</p><p> </p><p>Metal? Cranking?</p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t gone yet?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The thought injected an excessively powerful dose of Adrenaline to her tired body. Without any word, Yoohyeon ignored Gahyeon’s call to run toward the backstage. She didn’t even hear Minji-sunbaenim, who was standing next to her clubmates and biting her lips near the curtain, doing the same as she run past her to reach the small door leading a rusty metal staircase linking to the stage ceiling.</p><p> </p><p>Where the lock was, obviously, unlocked.</p><p> </p><p>Someone had broken it beforehand, and of course, without being noticed. This area was marked as dangerous. The lighting systems were working just fine. No one ever wandered around, and there was absolutely no reason for anyone to do that.</p><p> </p><p>Except for this guy.</p><p> </p><p>But the tall girl didn’t mind that the lock being broken, though. It would take her less time to get up there, and see who the heck this prankster was. Or no, she mentally reminded herself while jumping to take two steps at a time on this narrow staircase.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t a prankster, not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>This time, ‘prankster’ didn’t describe him close enough.</p><p> </p><p>Now, he was a killer. A cold-blooded murderer hiding in the dark. Bold, to kill someone right in front of the eye of hundreds of people. And fucking arrogant, to think that he could escape after performing such a shocking show.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe he hadn’t expected Yoohyeon to be able to hear his footsteps from that far below. Maybe he hadn’t thought anybody would have noticed that he was here to enjoy his own art, because obviously, Chanmi’s death was more than perfect to attract people’s attention, and conveniently created a blind spot for him to sneak out. She had to admit that he did have a point to assume that he could have, though.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever he’d thought, whatever he’d planned, right here, right now, he would have to walk pass Yoohyeon, if he wanted to get away. This staircase is too narrow for two people walking side by side, and as far as she knew, there was no other but the way she was running on to get the hell out of here.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Let’s see where else you can hide, asshole.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Adrenaline fogged her mind, enough to prevent her from assessing what she could do when facing him, but also gave her strength to run way to the top without stopping for a break. Her pulse was hammering in her temple, one of the reasons was because of the vague fear swirling in her stomach, without her own noticing.</p><p> </p><p>How long had she been climbing on these stairs? Two minutes? Three? Or was it five already?</p><p> </p><p>And how on Earth was he still nowhere to be seen?</p><p> </p><p>But her legs didn’t stop. With an enormous effort, they carried her to the ceiling.</p><p> </p><p>And halted.</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl stood up, swallowed hard to catch up with her breath. She panted heavily, eyes squinted, tried her best to <em>see </em>something in this poor lighting condition.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, she couldn’t see anything.</p><p> </p><p>And it was abnormally quiet, too. She could easily hear her heart pounding against her ribcage, with the blood roaring inside her ears. She could also hear the buzzing sound of silence. Her not-frequently-trained legs were shaking, and she had to muster every effort she had to stand up straight. And uphold her guard, too.</p><p> </p><p>But it was hard.</p><p> </p><p>She felt like a prey under the eye of a predator, and being exposed like a prey while not running was hard. Waiting for a not-knowing-when attack was hard. Suppressing her own terror was even harder.</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>A string of cold sweat rolled along her temple. Her nape was painfully stinging. Her spine was shivering, and she had no idea whether it was because of the cold air around, or it was because of her own fear appearing from nowhere, as a replacement for the dropping amount of adrenaline flowing in her blood.</p><p> </p><p>And fuck… Why was the air so… still? And smelled so dusty? Like there was no one else here? He couldn’t manage to hide somewhere, then suddenly give her a surprise attack, could he?</p><p> </p><p>She slowly stretched her arm, until the skin on her palms felt the coldness of the dusty metal rail, both left and right.</p><p> </p><p>Okay… So there was no way he could attack her from the sides. This pathway was too narrow. He couldn’t have sneaked to her back without her realising. There was no other place for him to hide. No need to panic. No need to panic. Just calm down.  </p><p> </p><p>Calm… down…</p><p> </p><p>Her heart was still racing. Shit. Now the blood flow in her ears was <em>thundering.</em> And the stinging feeling was getting worse. She was overwhelmed with the fear of being attacked all of a sudden, and heck, why the hell did she have to wait until now to realise how stupid it was to climb all the way up here, facing a guy who’d just mercilessly took a girl’s life, all alone?</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Nothing happened.</p><p> </p><p>No crazy man coming at her. No knife stabbing at her. No palms pushing her down to the ground. No hands choking her to death. Nothing.</p><p> </p><p>Couldn’t uphold her guard any longer, Yoohyeon’s heartbeat slowed down. Right at the moment her eyes started to adjust, and get used to the darkness surrounding her from the start.</p><p> </p><p>Before going wide-opened. In disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl clumsily fished out her phone, cold and sweaty fingers struggled to turn on the flashlight, eyes narrowed at the sudden garishness. Damn it. How could she waste like what, nearly ten seconds just to get her phone operated normally?</p><p> </p><p>After some time felt like a minute, or so she thought, she was able to turn on the flashlight, and raise the device for a better look.</p><p> </p><p>Only to be frozen to her spot.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Yoo, what’s…?”</p><p> </p><p>A part of her brain noticed Yubin’s concerned voice, but she didn’t react to it. The short haired must have followed her when seeing her running like crazy up here.</p><p> </p><p>And yet… She couldn’t care any less, because…</p><p> </p><p>No, this… This couldn’t be true, could it?</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl turned around, her phone in hand swung along with her shocked gaze.</p><p> </p><p>The white light beam from her phone was bright enough for her to have a clear look. She could see tons of ropes, nets, sandbags, and lots of things she didn’t know what they were, hung all over the ceiling. She could see a small walkway made by metal, which she was already standing on from the start. She could see the curtain separating the stage and the back of the backstage hung underneath her feet. She could even see the dust flying everywhere, indicating for the fact that no one had been here for a very, <em>very </em>long time.</p><p> </p><p>She could see <em>everything</em>. Except the culprit.</p><p> </p><p>Then she looked down to her feet, not directly under, but a little more diagonally than her current spot. Where Kim Chanmi’s dead body was still lying there, at least four meters away from where she was standing, right.now.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl turned toward her friend, her eyes couldn’t hide both her shock and confusion.</p><p> </p><p>No human being could jump down from a four-meter height place without being wounded or hurt, or worse, unnoticed. She hadn’t seen anyone on the way climbing up here, either, and yes, she was sure of what she’d heard. They were unmistakably footsteps, no doubts.</p><p> </p><p>There <em>was </em>someone here. And it only took her around thirty seconds to rush from the stage to that fucking door. And as far as her phone light could reach, she saw no other possible escape route for anyone to make.</p><p> </p><p>But if it was the truth… Then in a mere thirty seconds…</p><p> </p><p>Where the heck did this asshole go?</p><p>----------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yuri couldn’t say she was happy to the least.</p><p> </p><p>Well, she liked her job, for sure. Being a homicide police officer was kind of harsh, especially for a woman, but anyway, it suited her personality, and so far, it had grown on her to the point that she didn’t feel like it was just a job. Of course, she was working, and it helped her pay all the bills she had at the end of every month, but she had been enjoying it a little bit too much to make distinguishing between enjoyment and work hard enough, so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>Not that she didn’t have any complaints, though.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t really like the peaceful days when there was nothing for her to investigate, even though she did feel (a little) guilty when thinking about the amount of tax Seoul citizens having to pay her to, uhm, ensure that people were safe and felt safe, or some stupid things like that.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t really like the way her higher-ups sometimes covering for some nasty cases, for only God knew what their reasons could be. But yeah, corruption happened, so frequently that it had become a common practice, and life was unfair, as simple as it sounded, so she had learnt this attitude from Yeonnie to be able to survive in this so-called noble service. As long as it didn’t interfere with her own mottos and principles, she would be fine with whatever her higher-ups’ decisions might be.</p><p> </p><p>And unlike her newbie day, she extremely disliked being called while she was off duty.</p><p> </p><p>Or more precisely, when she was having some private time with her equally busy girlfriend, without her beloved sister hanging around, and finally stole from her a heart-meltingly cute blushing face and a soft moan after whole night of sending signals, flirting, pushing and pulling, and preparing for another (hopefully) unforgettable night.</p><p> </p><p>Like tonight.</p><p> </p><p>So yeah, she wasn’t happy, not at all, when her phone kept ringing despite her effort spent on ignoring it.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you have a phone to catch?”</p><p> </p><p>And Taeyeon’s abnormally low voice among these kisses <em>didn’t</em> help. Not at all.</p><p> </p><p>Frustratedly grunting, the black haired nudged her head in the crook of her girlfriend’s neck one last time. “I hate you.” Before standing up, couldn’t help but sticking her tongue toward her chuckling partner, and finally took the phone call.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m listening.”</p><p> </p><p>“Judging from the long wait and your awkwardly pissed tone, I guess I called in the middle of your second base, didn’t I?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you think eight thirty’s a little bit too early for that?” Yuri drily replied, voice didn’t get any calmer when she glanced at her clock. “Or eight thirty-three, but whatever. This call’d better be worth it, Irene, so what’s the sit?”</p><p> </p><p>It was almost immediate. The atmosphere had shifted, as if her dongsaeng was actually here, in front of the black haired, smile quickly faded away from her unrealistically beautiful face, looked at her in the eyes, with the most serious gaze she could give out.</p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t a good sign.</p><p><br/>
And yes, Irene’s next word officially confirmed that her hunch was right. Again.</p><p> </p><p>Not noticing her childish expression was gone in a single heartbeat, Yuri unconsciously threw a gaze at an incredulous Taeyeon while listening to the dongsaeng’s information, and before she realised she shouldn’t do that, it was too late already.</p><p> </p><p>Oh God. Yeonnie was looking at her, hazed eyes returned to the usual sharpness, and she had crossed her arms, appeared to be patiently waiting for her to hang up the phone, but the black haired knew too well that wasn’t the case.</p><p> </p><p>Mama mia.</p><p> </p><p>Of all the place in the whole wide world…</p><p> </p><p>Why did deaths have to happen at that fucking school by the way?</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------</p><p>The whole school was dismissed when the police arrived.</p><p> </p><p>Or, no, it wasn’t the whole school, to be exact. Almost everyone was kindly asked to leave the theatre, and most of them, after giving enough info to the police, mostly providing their alibi with their friends as witnesses, were allowed, or no, advised to go home.</p><p> </p><p>Though Yoohyeon didn’t think they would. Curiosity sometimes could overwhelm terror, especially when people started to realise that no incidents would occur to them, and feel safe again. Discussion would go wild, and she wouldn’t be so naïve to believe that this topic would die down anytime soon. But not that she cared, to be honest.</p><p> </p><p>Deeply inhaling, now she was calm enough to have a look around.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon and Handong were among those allowed to go after being asked a few questions, but she could see their nervousness in the eyes looking for her and Yubin among this crowd. And she couldn’t do anything more than just giving them a curt nod, signalling everything was gonna be fine.</p><p> </p><p>She doubted they would buy it though.</p><p> </p><p>It would be more reasonable if everything wasn’t going to be fine, after all. And she couldn’t blame them for worrying too much. After what happened, and now, seeing her and Yubin being held for further interrogation? Heck. She would have worried too, if she’d been them.</p><p> </p><p>But Yoohyeon wasn’t them. So she couldn’t worry much about her own situation right now, even though it might look kind of bad. Sure, if the ceiling was the primary crime scene, then she would have to explain quite a lot about the reason why she’d gotten up there, and left quite a lot of shoeprints and fingerprints here and there, but again, she, like most people presenting at the theatre when Chanmi’d been killed, had a pretty solid alibi, so that wasn’t a big fuss.</p><p> </p><p>And she didn’t kill her, so there was nothing to worry about that. What she should be worried about now was…</p><p> </p><p>“You really want to win my number one spot of being caught in bad luck, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p> Yoohyeon raised her head, eyes caught the familiar reassuring grin of Yuri-unnie. Damn it. So it was her unit assigned to take this case. This could either be the best outcome she could hope for, or turn out to be her worst nightmare, ever.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Sitting next to her, the officer gently asked after seeing that she was in no mood for jokes of any kind. Yoohyeon couldn’t really look at her in the eye. She just nodded with a pressed pair of lips. And clenching fists, too. And Yuri-unnie’s knowing gaze didn’t help her to at least pretend that she was good. Not one bit.</p><p> </p><p>Then she exhaled in frustration, before shaking her head. Heck, what the hell was she trying to do? Lying to a liar detector like her unnie’s girlfriend? That was easily one of the stupidest things she’d ever done in her whole life, and she’d done quite a lot of those already.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I get it.” Patting her stiff shoulders, Yuri-unnie nodded. “It’ll be weirder if you are. Wanna tell me the whole story then?”</p><p> </p><p>At first, Yoohyeon hesitated. Not that she didn’t really know where to start, but… Heck. How was she gonna explain everything? Including not telling either of her unnies about that obvious threat sent a month ago, or how she couldn’t realise that threat was actually aiming at Kim Chanmi, the girl who had been acting really weird recently?</p><p> </p><p>Damn it. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it was. Chanmi must have known something before all of this, so why hadn’t she noticed anything? If she had, or, if she just told her unnies about those threats, or if she had <em>cared </em>more, if she’d tried better, tried harder, then maybe none of this would have happened.</p><p> </p><p>But that wasn’t the worst.</p><p> </p><p>The worst was when her eyes caught the image of a half nervous half terrified Minji-sunbaenim, waiting for her turn to be asked in the corner of the stage, her brain automatically flashed another scene. Another sad smile from the elder girl. Another question she had asked, not to receive an answer, but more like to express her own helplessness against everything.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"If being ignorant is a sin, then we're all sinners, I guess?" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And now… She even let the culprit…</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>And maybe, her stupid messy brain would keep on painting out some other unwanted scenarios, if Yuri-unnie didn’t put her hand on hers, and bluntly stopped all of her self-rantings and cursing by her gentle, yet firm voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo, look at me.”</p><p> </p><p>There was no room for objection, so Yoohyeon followed the officer’s order after letting out a shaky breath she was holding in for so long.</p><p> </p><p>And yet, for some reasons, Yuri-unnie’s gaze calmed her down almost immediately. Maybe because she didn’t see any displease in those orbs. Or maybe there was no sign saying that her unnie was extremely unhappy, or pissed at her for being so stupid. She didn’t know. She couldn’t identify all of these emotions, but at least, her frantic mind was able to stop processing her own worries and thoughts, so that was a good thing.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you think you could have changed something, then the answer is no, you can’t do that. None of this is your fault.”</p><p> </p><p>The elder’s blunt statement wasn’t too convincing, but she didn’t visibly oppose to it.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I know you won’t believe me.” Yuri-unnie slightly chuckled, but her glance was totally serious. “Like it or not, you won’t be able to stop him. With this brutal killing method? He could have killed her, sooner or later, one way or another. Are you sure you can protect her forever, Yoo?”</p><p> </p><p>After a few seconds of thinking, she shook her head. That question was ridiculously easy to answer.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, you can’t. There’re a lot of things you can’t do in this world, unfortunately, so don’t go on and carry every burden you’ve seen, or bare the responsibilities you’re not supposed to take. It’s not worth it, and it’s unfair for you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger remained silent. She knew Yuri-unnie was right. What she’d just said totally made sense, in terms of logic. But she couldn’t say that it was able to erase both her frustration and her helplessness. It was still far from it, actually. </p><p> </p><p>“And even if it really <em>is</em> your fault, there’s no point in crying over spilled milk, Yoohyeon-ah.” The officer gently looked at her, yet the grip on her hand grew stronger and firmer. “You can’t change what happened in the past, but at least, you can change what might happen in the future. Like help me find out who he is. Or stopping him from killing his possible next target, perhaps?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger girl didn’t know that there was a ray of light flashing through her own eyes when hearing these words. She didn’t even notice her own body was trembling with realisation. Considering the threats had been sent three times, in three different months, it would be stupid to presume that Kim Chanmi was the only victim, wouldn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>And… Yes. The first threat he’d sent. Sinners. Plural. Not singular.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Chanmi couldn’t be the only one sinner under his crazy judgement. If that was the case, then how long did she tend to whine about her own stupidity?</p><p> </p><p>“So I’m gonna ask you, one more time.”</p><p> </p><p>Damn…</p><p> </p><p>“Wanna tell me the whole story then?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Yoohyeon was the one letting out a slight chuckle. No wonder why Taeyeon-unnie fell for this woman. All she did was saying only a few words, and she had made her change her own mind, and want to talk about something that she still hadn’t wanted for like what, a minute ago, <em>willingly</em>?</p><p> </p><p>Now that was admirably scary.</p><p> </p><p>Still in awe, she told her unnie. From the threatening messages sent with three dolls in three different months, what she’d concluded from the last mirror, what she’d found about the culprit being right-handed, and was someone, either working or studying at Jung Dok High, everything.</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was raspy at first for remaining silent for too long, but it got clearer after a few minutes. And her mind got clearer, too.</p><p> </p><p>The more she talked about it, the calmer she felt. Retelling the whole story under a third person point of view was good. At least, it helped her to assess all the information more objectively. Enough for her to realise that, ok, it was reluctant, but Yoohyeon had to admit, there was nothing else she could do about the whole situation, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I get it now.” Without blaming her for shutting her mouth up until now, Yuri-unnie finally concluded. “You didn’t have enough information, did you? No wonder why you couldn’t find out who did all of this.”</p><p> </p><p>Scratching the nape of her neck, Yoohyeon shily smiled. Oh well. Yuri-unnie did hit the bullseye, but the elder didn’t seem to really care about her being correct.  </p><p> </p><p>“So what about tonight then?”</p><p> </p><p>That was a different story, but she tried her best. She didn’t say anything about her and Minji-sunbaenim, but started from when the incident happened. How she’d asked Yubin to call the police after concluding that Kim Chanmi couldn’t be saved. How she’d quickly realised it was no accident. How she’d heard the metal cranking footsteps. How fast she’d gotten to the ceiling.</p><p> </p><p>And how she’d found absolutely nothing at place.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it sounds really stupid, and I have nothing to prove my own words, but…” Yoohyeon deeply inhaled, before looking at the officer with every ounce of genuineness she could muster. “I swear. He was there. I just don’t know how he escaped from it.”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Yuri-unnie didn’t say anything. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and reasonings, but the younger couldn’t blame her for spacing out on her like this. It was a lot of information to take in, and damn it, speaking about this case…</p><p> </p><p>There was also a bunch of stuffs she couldn’t wrap her head around, either.</p><p> </p><p>Why was he so reckless to kill someone in front of so many people? Why choosing such a noisy killing method? Did it have anything to do with the date? Or the place? Couldn’t he ask Chanmi to go somewhere alone? Was he obliged to kill in this way? Was he just an attention seeker? Or was he just a lunatic enjoying adrenaline pumping in his blood during some high-tension moments of killing and escaping under the eye of hundreds of people?</p><p> </p><p>Damn...</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, and, Yoo?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie’s strange tone had successfully pulled her back to reality. “Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“I forgot to tell you.” Her laugh was weirdly nervous. “I have news. Good and bad. Which one do you wanna hear first?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger couldn’t help but blinking. “Good news first, I guess?” And asked, clearly uncertain in her own choice.</p><p> </p><p>“Our higher-up knows you’re her sister, and you’re here, so Yeonnie wasn’t assigned to take this case.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay… That makes sense…” The younger swallowed down, couldn’t really suppress the bad feeling about all of this. “So the bad news is…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah, she’s here.” Yuri-unnie burst out another timid laughter. “In fact, she’s heading toward us. And maaaybe… She knew you ran up there already, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon looked at the direction her unnie was pointing at, immediately froze when seeing the image of an unmistakably angry Taeyeon-unnie rushing forward.</p><p> </p><p>Oh dear.</p><p> </p><p>God blessed her fucked up life.</p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p>“Mind telling me why the hell on Earth did you decide to chase a fucking cold-blooded murderer, all by your own?”</p><p> </p><p>Crossing her arm, Taeyeon looked at her own reckless sister, patiently gave her some time to answer that should be obvious question in the most reasonable way she could. And yet, the way Yoohyeon was just interested in the floor all of a sudden did absolutely nothing to help her remain her calmness.</p><p> </p><p>Great. Her life was a beauty, indeed.</p><p> </p><p>But again, she’d never cursed in front of her younger sister, so maybe, she wasn’t as calm as she thought in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, unnie…” A mosquito-like apology was all she could have. “I just… I don’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“He could have killed you.” She coldly cut her off. “Simply by pushing you down to the ground. Or choking you to death.” Then her voice got louder, when the flame of her anger couldn’t be suppressed anymore. “How hard is it to do just that, Kim Yoohyeon? Do you seriously think you can put up a fight against someone who’d just mercilessly take a life of his own kind minutes ago? Don’t you think you’re fla…”</p><p> </p><p>But she couldn’t continue. No, especially when Yuri was forcefully using her palm to cover all of her mouth up. “Don’t.” The black haired calmly reminded her to stop, but it only made her angrier.</p><p> </p><p>So she struggled, hard, tried her best to get out of her girlfriend’s firm grip.</p><p> </p><p>But then suddenly, she stopped. As if she was being struck by lightning of realisation.</p><p> </p><p>The struggle, after all, had allowed her to have a better look at her own younger sister. She could finally see how shaky her body was. Or how her eyes were filled with nothing but exhaustion, anxiety, fear, and above all, hurt, in form of tears on verge. Or how she looked so lost, but again, tried her best to control her own emotions, just to not running away from all of this.</p><p> </p><p>Or more precise, to not running away from her.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>The grip on her wrist and mouth was loosened, a few seconds after she’d stopped moving.</p><p> </p><p>“Babe, it’s been a long night.” Yuri gently whispered when noticing her anger had vanished. “I know you’re just worried, but… Don’t be too harsh on her, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Taeyeon didn’t say anything in response. Now, how could she be? When the frustration toward herself had finally faded? When she was just purely glad that Yoohyeon was ok? When she couldn’t stand seeing her sister in this shattered state?</p><p> </p><p>If only she’d been here sooner…</p><p> </p><p>“Come here, Yoo.”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice wasn’t harsh anymore. Amazingly softer, in fact, but Yoohyeon looked like she wanted nothing more than staying away from her. So with an encouraging nod from Yuri, Taeyeon just let out a heavy sigh, then stepped forward, and pulled her taller sister in for a hug, totally out of the blue.</p><p> </p><p>Which made her slender body stiffen in a blink.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>But the CSI didn’t let go. Her little sister’s familiar warmth slowly loosened up her tensed shoulders, and she was just overwhelmed with pure relief, so much that she blurted out, all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank God you’re ok…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon still remained silent. Maybe she was still hurt because of her outburst rage. Maybe she was still surprised at her abnormal hug, because clearly, hugging, cuddling, and saying <em>that</em> out loud weren’t her things. But Taeyeon couldn’t care less. She was just glad. And she just wished she could be here for her a little sooner, so her younger sister wouldn’t have to suffer from all of this all by her own.</p><p> </p><p>And she hated that her presence only put more pressure on the poor girl’s shoulders. She hated it even more when it was all <em>her</em> fault for making Yoohyeon feel that way.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, Hyeonnie.” Gently stroking her sister’s back, she tried again, hoping to soothe her exhausted mind a little. “I’m really sorry… Whatever I was going to say, I didn’t mean it, and I still don’t. I’m sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence, then…</p><p> </p><p>The CSI secretly exhaled. Thank God, Yoohyeon’s body finally relaxed, thin arms rose and squeezed to return Taeyeon’s clumsy efforts and embrace.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow, this is a pleasant surprise.” Her sister mumbled, at least now Taeyeon could hear a hint of teasing in her normal playful tone. “And it feels weirdly good, too, having you apologising to me, I mean. Can you do this more often, unnie?”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t hold back a frown. <em>This little devil…</em></p><p> </p><p>“Are you pushing your luck?”</p><p> </p><p>Raising an eyebrow, she was going to pull away from the hug, but Yoohyeon was faster.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no no no, don’t even think about getting rid of me.” Quick as lightning, her little sister just tightened her embrace. “I <em>love</em> hugging, and it’s been ages since the last time you hugged me, so just hold on a little bit longer, please? Yuri-unnie won’t be jealous that much, will she?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon slightly chuckled. This girl seemed to have grown up a little, but deep down inside, she was still a kid who liked whining and attaching and sticking to her just like a giant koala. And not that she minded, though. The CSI might not be a big fan of skinship, but yeah…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon wasn’t the only one missing hugging her sister, so it seemed.</p><p> </p><p>But this embrace didn’t last too long, and the atmosphere just felt weirdly awkward when the two of them let go of the hug, then looked at the other in the eye. It was strange. She felt like it had been a really long time since the last time they actually saw each other. They were never close, and the gap just kept widening when Yoohyeon growing up. And Taeyeon knew their age gap was a big factor parting them further apart, but…</p><p> </p><p>This was awkwardly frustrating.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, I’m…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, unnie.” Slightly waving her hand, Yoohyeon intervened before she could actually say some either nice or embarrassing things. “I also think I was stupid, so yeah, I get it. I’m sorry for letting you worry, too.”</p><p> </p><p>A moment of silence dropped among them.</p><p> </p><p>Then her sister’s goofy smile slowly faded when she honestly confessed.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just… I hadn’t really realised how stupid I was until I got up there, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon didn’t know. She didn’t really understand how Yuri and Yoohyeon, the only two people in this world could make her lose all the calmness she had, were able to be so reckless to trust their intuitions, and act without further thinking and assessing all the possible outcomes, but now…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon didn’t need to know that now. So she just sighed, then nodded, then gave her a pat on the back. Finally, Taeyeon’s stiffened facial muscles were able to lift up, and cracked her lips out for a small smile. It was hard to not to, if she had to be honest. Yoohyeon’s visible relief did make her feel so much better. Like she could finally let go of a stupidly heavy rock she had no idea that she was carrying for so long, or something like that.</p><p> </p><p>But it didn’t mean she had nothing to worry about. Especially when Yuri had disappeared since…</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon slightly squinted her eyes. When had she gone? And why hadn’t she said anything before…?</p><p> </p><p>Oh, there she was.</p><p> </p><p>But the CSI’s question mark didn’t vanish. Yuri’s normally smiley face now… indescribable. It was strangely emotionless and unreadable, and Taeyeon knew that calculating look of hers very well. It only appeared when everything went <em>really </em>wrong, so yeah…</p><p> </p><p>This couldn’t be good.</p><p> </p><p>And it could be even worse than her current assumption, because Yuri’s eyes were now fixing on Yoohyeon with a string of worrying, rather than fixing on her, as she usually did.</p><p> </p><p>“Is something wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>Her girlfriend nodded at her obvious question. “As usual, everything is.” She seemed a little reluctant to explain while glancing at Yoohyeon one last time, but quickly made up her mind. “Bang Sir’s order. I can’t say no.”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon immediately understood. With Sooyoung being busy with another case, no wonder why the higher-ups chose Yuri’s unit instead of that hot-head Tiffany’s to take on this one. With this speed of handling scandals, they must have thought about covering things up right from the start, no doubts.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t wanna call Suho?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not now.” Her girlfriend shook her head. “You know it too well, Yeonnie. The press can’t help much, unfortunately. Not in this case. You see how fast this school board committee reacted. You see how effective they are at dealing with <em>our </em>higher-ups. Even a reporter like Suho can’t do anything if <em>his </em>higher-ups are bribed, which highly is the case considering there’re none of them here at this moment. Unless we have some solid and value information…”</p><p> </p><p>“Which we don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>The CSI simply admitted, and Yuri just curtly nodded. Value information meant the identity of the culprit, and at this point…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I think I’m a little bit behind, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon turned around, gaze landed on an anxious Yoohyeon, eyes nervously shifted from her girlfriend to her, as if she was watching a tennis match between the two of them, before stuttering in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you telling me that… You're closing this case as an… accident?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a long moment of silence covering the three of them. Then Yuri’s helpless sigh just bluntly broke it.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I am.” She looked at her sister with a firm gaze. “This is an accident. The frame cable’s too old. It loosened, and let the rig accidentally fall on the victim. For now.”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon understood what Yuri meant when saying that, but clearly, Yoohyeon didn’t.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” She slowly walked toward her girlfriend. “You… You know that it's anything but an accident!” And must have bumped into Yuri if Taeyeon didn’t hold her back. “Unnie, I don’t lie! It's not an accident, you can’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“I have to go now.” was all the black haired said before sending her girlfriend a meaningful look. “I’m sorry, Yoo.”</p><p> </p><p>Then left.</p><p> </p><p>“No, wait!” Yoohyeon was still in shock, and it was even harder for the CSI to calm her down. “Unnie, let me go! The cable… It’s not…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo, stop it…”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I have to… Unnie, I don’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“I said stop!”</p><p> </p><p>And she did. The CSI rarely raised her voice, but now she had to. She knew that this might hurt her sister more than anything, but she had no other choice. If a little pain could calm her down enough to listen to whatever she had to say, so be it.</p><p> </p><p>It was hard. It was painful for her to face the hurt and frustration in Yoohyeon’s teary eyes, but she still did it. Looked at her right in the eyes, and talked some cruel facts into her kind but inexperienced brain.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>know</em> you’re not lying, Hyeonnie.”</p><p> </p><p>Holding her bony shoulders, Taeyeon gathered every ounce of honesty and genuineness she had, and poured it into her grip, her voice, and even facial expression. Normally, she wouldn’t even care about explaining, but now…</p><p> </p><p>She could only hope for Yoohyeon to believe in the ugly truth she was going to say.</p><p> </p><p>“Please, calm down, and think about it. I’m not saying this because you’re my sister. I came here on Yuri’s car. She took me here with her. Why did I have to take that long just to come and see you? Because I did climb up there, to the ceiling, and see for myself first.”</p><p> </p><p>That had made Yoohyeon’s eyes a little clearer, just like her mind, maybe. But she didn’t stop. Her sister deserved to know more than just that. She deserved to be believed at, especially when she was telling the truth.</p><p> </p><p>“You think we <em>don’t</em> know that neat end cable just simply means it was cut by some kind of cable cutter? You think we <em>don’t</em> know that the length of the cut cable is too short if it was cut by someone standing on the ground? You think we <em>don’t</em> know what the set of hand without prints, visibly on that dusty rail means? You think we <em>don’t</em> know what the third set of blurry shoeprints having no patterns, besides two sets with clear patterns, which might be yours and Yubin’s, hints at? And there was another not as dusty as the rest area, at least thirty centimetres wide in diameter, too. You seriously think we… <em>I </em>don’t know what all those evidences indicate at?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was now speechless. That was a lot of information to take in, and Taeyeon knew that look. She must have been in doubt of <em>herself</em> from the moment she’d gotten up to the ceiling only to find absolutely nothing up there. She might be telling everyone she didn’t lie, but she couldn’t even confirm to her own brain that the murderer had actually been there. There was no proof. That kind of uncertainty must having been torturing her inside.</p><p> </p><p>And that very thought wrenched Taeyeon’s chest, harder than she could ever expect it to.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know how he could vanish into thin air like that, not yet, but he was there, wearing his gloves and whatever underneath to hide his shoeprints, and I know it, ok?” Softening her own voice, the CSI cupped her hand on her sister’s cheeks, quietly reassured. “I know it. I get it. I trust you. Everything I found until now supports what you said, Hyeonnie, and I’m a hundred percent sure Yuri trusts you, too. She knows what she’s doing. She’s a quick thinker, and way sharper than her either sexy or goofy look, that you can trust me. Or else I wouldn’t have dated her right from the start.”</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, the uncertainty was still flickering in her pure brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“But… If she believes me, then why…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Your school is very good at covering such big scandal, Hyeonnie.” Taeyeon couldn’t help but letting out a sigh. “You know how bad this thing can ruin their reputation, right? An insider killing a school student? To them, it’s even worse than having someone committing suicide. I’ll be surprised if they’re not prioritising hiding the truth from the public, and I know you know that, too. How many suicide cases were buried underneath this roof already? And how do you think those cases still remained hidden, after all this time, if it wasn’t thanks to bribing and networking with <em>our </em>higher-ups and the press?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was still too shock to say anything. That was cruel. She knew her younger sister might have vague ideas from the start. Or no. To be more precise, they weren’t vague. They just sounded unreal, or distant. Like something only happened somewhere far away, in someone else’s lives, rather than here.</p><p> </p><p>But now, directly hearing those facts from her? That was a different story.</p><p> </p><p>“And Yuri can’t really disobey orders from her higher-ups.” Taeyeon miserably shook her own head. “Not that she’s incapable of, but it’s not wise, so to speak.”</p><p> </p><p>“But…”</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me.” She bluntly interrupted her. “Do you have any proofs telling you who killed that girl?”</p><p> </p><p>Pressing her lips, Yoohyeon was clearly reluctant, but she still shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Then tell me, are there any hints indicating there might be a next victim?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, her sister quickly nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“So tell me, if Yuri was casted aside from this case, how high will the chance to protect the next possible victim be?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s eyes got wider, and Taeyeon knew, she had finally understood.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s right.” The CSI firmly nodded. “She needs to stay in the case. She has to. And she’s gonna negotiate for a chance to protect everyone. Her priority is protecting the next one first, <em>then</em> catching the culprit later. And this might sound illogical and unreasonable, but in fact, Yuri’s priorities don’t conflict with those assholes’ wishes to bury this one for good, if you just forget about how things are gonna be announced. There’ll be a higher chance for her to successfully negotiate, <em>if </em>she just lays down, lets them do whatever they want, and patiently waits rather than disobeying, causing a ruckus, and being casted away until case closed.”</p><p> </p><p>Her sister didn’t say anything. She just pressed her lips, so hard that they had formed a thin white line, and she knew what it meant. It was frustrating, indeed. Being powerless and helpless was frustrating. Allowing nasty corruption happen around was also frustrating. Seeing how unfair things could get and unable to change anything was the most frustrating part, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyeonnie, I know you’re exasperated. I know how you’re feeling right now. But if you want to change anything, you have to calm down first. Don't let emotions play with your mind. And listen to me. Yuri’s not gonna let thing end like this.”</p><p> </p><p>Holding the younger’s head to keep her from averting her eyes, the CSI gently asked.</p><p> </p><p>“You heard her too, didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Her sister just blinked in confusion, so she repeated her girlfriend’s word, one more time.</p><p> </p><p>“She said ‘For now.’.”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon smiled. There was a string of light flashing through her own eyes, but she couldn’t notice it. Not that she needed to, though. The most important thing was Yoohyeon’s face had finally been able to stop showing any sign of uncertainty and confusion.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, that was right. There was no need to, because…</p><p> </p><p>“She never said it’s gonna be an accident for good.”</p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p>That call was quite unexpected.</p><p> </p><p>Or no, not that they didn’t think he wouldn’t make the call first. It was rather like they didn’t expect him, of all people, to be <em>that </em>scared after seeing a corpse. Right, that would be more accurate.</p><p> </p><p>As if he hadn’t seen anyone dying a painful death in front of his eyes before. What a hypocrite.</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you here? I thought we’d agreed on not seeing each other in public already?”</p><p> </p><p>Not saying anything yet, he didn’t need to raise his head to meet their emotionless eyes. But they knew that look. He was searching for some kind of comfort, which, unfortunately, they could do nothing to help him with. They couldn’t understand why he was like this. Not that they really tried to, anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Chanmi’s dead.”</p><p> </p><p>He finally spoke, voice raspy and broken. Which made they frown, hard. This was also unexpected.</p><p> </p><p>“So?” Crossing arms, they casually asked. “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly in love with her. That’s unbelievable, and not even funny to the least.”</p><p> </p><p>And they almost chuckled. The word ‘disbelief’ was literally written all over his face, and seriously, he? Being capable of expressing his feeling <em>this </em>freely? Of all people?</p><p> </p><p>Tonight was full of surprises, indeed.</p><p> </p><p>“You… How can you be so calm?” He stuttered, finally asked the million-dollar question were haunting him since this encounter’d started. “What if her death is not an accident? What if she was killed by the one sending those fucking threats? Don’t you think Chanmi was targeted since the beginning? What if I’m the next one? Or you? Or both of us?”</p><p> </p><p>He was, obviously, terrified, but they couldn’t sympathise with it. Not even one bit.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s out of question.” They said after thinking through everything. “You said it yourself, we didn’t leave behind any kind of evidence. And she was always an outcast. No one cares about her, not even now, and you know it, more than anyone else.”</p><p> </p><p>He remained silent, but the anxiety was so obvious. His tightening jaws. His hands covering his handsome face. His pathetic sitting posture. Gosh. That pissed they off so fucking easily.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you please use that brilliant brain of yours to just analyse this situation and stop being a coward? Where’s the calmness you had when suggesting us to fake everything?”</p><p> </p><p>“That was before all of this shit happened!” The guy finally burst out. “You can’t be seriously thinking Chanmi’s death was an accident, can you? And <em>you</em>, more than anyone, should have known that we did leave at least one proof back then!”</p><p> </p><p>They squinted their eyes, fists slowly clenched together and pressed hard on their bag, until they felt it lying inside.</p><p> </p><p>The mentioned proof that no one but them three knew about its existence.</p><p> </p><p>“And now, she’s…”</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t finish it. His voice was cracked, and he was shaking like a leave.</p><p> </p><p>“What if… I’m next? He killed Chanmi in the middle of a fucking crowd… This guy has no limit… He wasn’t even <em>scared</em> of killing someone that obvious…”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, so that was it. He was unexplainably angry when receiving the threats, but it was clear to them now. He was just using his anger to camouflage his own fear of being exposed. Or worse, killed. He didn’t care about his sin. He didn’t care about his companion. Chanmi’s death was only a reason for him to be terrified of losing his life without feeling a single ounce of remorse.</p><p> </p><p>That was so him, though.</p><p> </p><p>Lee Hongbin… What an asshole. And a coward, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Just calm the fuck down, will you?” They finally hissed. “Don’t you think her death is the best outcome for both of us? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten she wanted to go to the police and confess everything. The dead doesn’t talk. Our secret’s safe with her now.”</p><p> </p><p>Slowly raising his head, Hongbin stared at them, an incredulous gaze made them uneasy, but there was no way they would show it on their face. Such weakness couldn’t be seen by anyone else but them. Even with their ally like him.</p><p> </p><p>Only God knew when he would betray them for his own good.</p><p> </p><p>“And our secret’s safe with us too, right?”</p><p> </p><p>They sarcastically chuckled. The two of them were indeed allies, no doubts. That question was just the surface. The hidden meaning was too obvious, though. <em>Don’t you dare betraying me</em>, that was how they interpreted it.</p><p> </p><p>“As long as you don’t go on and suddenly put trust on a bunch of idiots you’ve tricked before, then I’m sure we’re good.”</p><p> </p><p>Was their honest answer. If Lee Hongbin didn’t expose that secret by confessing to the police in exchange for protection… And if he could use a little bit of his rational brain, he would know that even if the police'd been there, Chanmi would still have been killed nevertheless.</p><p> </p><p>But at this stage, who would have known?</p><p> </p><p>Chanmi’s death was a double-edge knife, indeed.</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re so worried about it, then do as he said.”</p><p> </p><p>They reminded him, one more time. Or more like a warning, perhaps. Whatever. He needed to know the consequences of a traitor before turning into one.</p><p> </p><p>“Conceal yourself well, or else…”</p><p> </p><p>Because at this stage…</p><p> </p><p>“Goodluck.”</p><p> </p><p>They wouldn’t mind killing more than just once.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Taeyeon was a little bit different from the way I originally imagined her to be... And Yuri, too. But I still love them regardless LOL.</p><p>Our gang hadn't appeared for 1 chap, and I've missed them already... But they'll be back in the next one!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. "The Full Moon Killer?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>One small step closer to the hidden truth.</p><p>The official use of the name Full Moon Killer.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh, so it was a pretty long break comparing to the previous chapters... But guess what, this one's longer than the previous chapters as well :"&gt; Thank you for the hits, kudos, and comments, and really, you don't know how much I cherish your supports, and it really motivates me to continue with this story, like, a lot :"&gt;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So… They only postpone it till when? The end of this month?”</p><p> </p><p>“The twenty-seventh, if we continue to perform. Or else it’ll be scheduled on sooner. Maybe in a week or two.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji looked at Yujin, reluctantly answered the girl’s question. She was biting her lips in disbelief, but it was hard telling if she was really that disappointed in everything happening around.</p><p> </p><p>The Spring Festival, like she said, was postponed, and apparently, nobody complained about it. No one, from any art clubs, could perform immediately after Chanmi’s accident. It was horrible. It was brutal. Like it or not, the incident had affected all of them, mentally, in a not very good way.</p><p> </p><p>And it was still fresh in everyone’s mind.</p><p> </p><p>But of course it was. A week weren’t even enough to forget such a scene. Then yet, she didn’t think any period of time would be enough. It could stay in anyone’s brain for more than a week. A month. A year. Maybe a lifetime, even.</p><p> </p><p>“Why not cancelling it, then?” Raising an eyebrow in uncertain, Yonghoon carefully asked. “I know the police has concluded that it was an accident, but…”</p><p> </p><p>He left his comment unfinished, and no one could answer that question of his. Even Minji. The only thing she could do was remaining silent. Clearly, everyone in her club joining this meeting were sharing the same thought. A person died after receiving such threats? Her clubmates were no pro, sure, but they didn’t have to be one to know that Chanmi’s death was anything but an accident.</p><p> </p><p>And everyone, herself included, had already known that cancelling such an important event was a big no no. It took the school a lot of efforts to invite sponsors and spectators, and if they cancelled it, it would definitely look like there was something wrong.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, …</p><p> </p><p>“If you ask me, I’d rather it to <em>not </em>being cancelled, Yonghoon-ah.” Lowering his voice, Seonghwa pressed his lips, carefully chose how to phrase his word before actually speaking it out loud. “I know it sounds terrible, immoral; even, but how often do we get a chance to perform in front of scouters from the KNUA? It’s been our dream to get into that university, hasn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji lowered her eyes. Yeah, that, too. KNUA. The noblest university in Performing Arts, nationwide. Their scouters rarely came to any high schools even if it was Jung Dok. The chance was slim, and she, just like everybody devoting themselves to Art, didn’t want it to slip away that easily.</p><p> </p><p>Which was why she couldn’t bring herself to defend for her own objection against the idea of continuing to organise the event when Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim’d asked her that million-dollar question. Neither of the other club leaders could. They, just like her clubmates right now, were suffering from the exact same dilemma.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone was scared, yes. It was common sense after all, to just cancel the whole thing, but no one was actually willing to give up the opportunity to get closer to their dream, that was.</p><p> </p><p>And conveniently, their inner wish was the same with the board committee’s one. To act like everything was normal. To act like everything was under control. To show the public that nothing severe had happened. <em>“We would reflect on ourselves for this mistake. And we deeply apologise for the pain Kim Chanmi-ssi and her family have to suffer from.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>What a joke. An expected joke, sadly.</p><p> </p><p>“But still…” Yujin timidly said, hands tightly clasped, clearly wasn’t very comfortable with the thought of continuing. “Why do they have to be so ignorant? Heartless? Can we even perform like there’s nothing happened? Is the new venue safer or what? I really don’t wanna be like…”</p><p> </p><p>The name of the poor girl wasn’t called out loud, but it was lingering in the air like a stubborn puff of smoke. It was hard to get rid of it. And even if everyone must die someday, being killed underneath a heavy stage light frame definitely wasn’t the best way to reach that end of the road.</p><p> </p><p>Seungyeon suddenly sent to Minji an apologetic gaze. The girl might be feeling uneasy because of her best friend not being optimistic enough, but the eldest just shook it off. Being a first year meant Yujin’s priority wasn’t either her performance, or the chance of getting to any university. The girl had every right to feel uncertain or scared. The leader would be surprised if she hadn’t felt that way, to be honest, so she wasn’t the one she had to worry about now.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>Minji looked to her right, where Hongbin was abnormally silent while attending to this club meeting. He was paler than usual, and somehow exhausted. Chanmi’s death must have affected him badly, enough to make him shut his mouth up. Neither supporting, nor objecting. Just sitting there like he was invisible, which she never thought he could, considering how much this guy loved being in the centre of attention and staying on the top of everyone else.</p><p> </p><p>And he wasn’t the only person in doubt here, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“Youngjo, Seunghee, Hongbin, how about you guys?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence. Long moment, in fact. That really was a difficult question, Minji wouldn’t deny it, and it was totally understandable. A typical lose-lose situation. Both choices were bad. None of them actually outweighed the others, which only made it harder to choose.</p><p> </p><p>“We can withdraw anytime, you know?” She finally decided to break the ice. “It’s not like this is gonna be the last chance we have…”</p><p> </p><p>There was this hint of misery in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, I believe none of you did anything worth being called sins under anyone’s eye, but it’s understandable if you’re afraid. So it’s fine. Withdrawing, I mean…”</p><p> </p><p>And now she even sounded like she was trying to convince herself rather than the other. Great.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>Another moment of silence, before Seonghwa slammed his palms on the table in front of his while standing up.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys can’t be serious, right?” The unbelieving look on his face scanned through everyone sitting in the room. “Why are you guys so afraid of being killed like Chanmi? We didn’t do anything wrong…” His voice died down a little, before he continued, this time clearly more uncertain; eyes fiercely stared straight at Hongbin. “… Or did you? Is this you he’s after?”</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck are you talking about?” The vice leader immediately stood up with an unmistakable rage. “Don’t you dare pointing your finger so randomly, Seonghwa. I don’t know about the other, but I don’t do anything wrong…”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why are you suddenly backing down like this?” Seonghwa wasn’t afraid to bite back. “This’s not like you. Since when did you become this spineless? What are you so scared of? Have you actually done something wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t fucking do any shit.” Tightly balling his fists, Hongbin growled, an obvious hint of threatening soaked in his abnormal low voice. “So stop accusing me when you have no fucking clue what the hell is going on here, or I can just make you suffer so much that you’ll wish you were never born.”</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa was on the verge of arguing back, but even before anyone could intervene, Minji’d already stood up, her voice was a mixture of firmness and despondence.</p><p> </p><p>“Now that’s enough, both of you.”</p><p> </p><p>Both of them threw an angry look at her, but she just faced them with a straight back, eyes challenged them to object what she’d just said.</p><p> </p><p>“With all the respect I have for you guys, you’re seniors, are someone else’s sunbaes, so please act like one.” Eyeing Seonghwa, the one started first, she strictly reminded them one last time. “You might be competing for the main role, and you’re not getting married, you don’t have to love each other, but don’t forget, at the end of the day, we’re each other’s clubmate. We’re a team. Fighting now is plainly stupid, and I know I don’t really need to point out how stupid it’s gonna be, do I?”</p><p> </p><p>The supporting actor threw the last incredulous glance at the vice club leader, before huffing out and getting back to his seat. Hongbin was doing the same, too, but he seemed nonchalant about what just happened back then.</p><p> </p><p>Minji couldn’t help but squinting her eyes a little. That was weird.</p><p> </p><p>“But what if that guy just wants to kill anyone?” Reluctantly breaking the ice, Yujin nervously looked around, but she seemed confused, as if she couldn’t bring herself to buy what she’d just said. “I don’t think Chanmi-sunbaenim did anything wrong, either.”</p><p> </p><p>“Except for being a bully, but there’s a lot of bullies in this school, so maybe that’s not why she was killed.” Youngjo quietly mumbled, and before Hongbin could say anything else, he raised his voice, seemed to have make up his mind after considering everything. “But anyway, he’s right. If we don’t do anything, then there’s nothing to be afraid of. Is anyone here a sinner like the first threat said?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji could clearly notice his questioning gaze fixed firmly on the person sitting on her right. And she didn’t miss Hongbin’s clenched jaws as well. Maybe she should prepare herself. After such a scandal, she didn’t really need another problem, not to mention a serious one if her clubmates started to pick up a fight against each other during a meeting like this.</p><p> </p><p>But her worry turned out to be useless. Hongbin was shaking in furiousness, but lucky her, he seemed to be sane enough to restrain himself from causing a ruckus, too. She could see his brain was struggling from the only two choices they had, before making up his mind like his clubmates, chin raised up in an annoyingly provocative manner.</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re not scared, then why would I?”</p><p> </p><p>His monotonous voice was unreadable. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or not, but at least, if she could just change the subject, then it would be one less problem for Minji to worry about. Turning to Yonghoon, Yujin and Seunghee, she looked at them in eyes, gathered all the genuineness she had before claiming.</p><p> </p><p>“As I said, it’s ok to be afraid. You can withdraw if you want to. Your safety comes first, and you’re free to…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never said I wanted to quit, sunbae.”</p><p> </p><p>The spoken one was Seunghee, which surprised Minji quite a lot. She, along with Yujin, were the most terrified ones after that incident. She looked pretty uncertain, too, but now, her doubts were nowhere to be seen. So after a deep inhale, she just shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Besides, Chanmi isn’t… wasn’t even in our club, so maybe, the threats might not be for any of us?”</p><p> </p><p>That didn’t sound very convincing, considering the three threats had been sent with the present of Minji’s club in all those days. And she knew she wasn’t the only one didn’t buy it, but still…</p><p> </p><p>“And maybe the new hall won’t have that kind of lighting system.” Yujin stopped biting her lips, before letting out a heavy sigh. “No more spotlight, but maybe it’ll be safer that way…”</p><p> </p><p>Minji squinted her eyes. She couldn’t miss her clubmates’ nervousness about all of this, and she clearly knew that what they said right now was just a way for them to rationalise their might-be-bad decision, which could possibly turn out to be the worst choice they might have made in their entire lives.</p><p> </p><p>And that might not be their intention, but… She couldn’t help but feeling like they were doing <em>her</em> a favour. That was an honour, really, to be respected by her mates like this, but believe it or not, owing someone was the last thing she ever wanted in her life.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys, don’t get me wrong…” She looked at all of them in the eye, and reconfirmed her opinion. “No one here would accuse you to be anything you’re not, even if you quitted. I really don’t want to see any of you being harmed because of this. It’s not even worth it.”</p><p> </p><p>“But it’s worth for you, sunbae, and we all know how important this play is to all of you third-years.” Seungyeon was smiling at her, warmly and gently. “It’s not like we’re just doing it for you only. You know that it’s good for us, too. Like a preparation before our grande finale next year, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>“And yeah, I don’t know about the other, but I can’t imagine you thinking of us being sinners or something.” Yonghoon chuckled, seemed to be amused by that ridiculous-for-no-reason thought. “Besides, I won’t be on the stage, but you’re never alone in any scene like Chanmi did, so maybe that’s another advantage? At least this guy doesn’t seem like a mass murderer to me. And it’s even harder to mess up with the light, ‘cause I’m pretty sure our board committee won’t be that dense to not focus on it this time…”</p><p> </p><p>Now that was convincing. After all, Yonghoon was stating a fact. Even though Chanmi’s death was cruel and malicious, none of them had any hunch or thought of this guy being a crazy man just having fun on massive killings or whatsoever. And Minji could finally notice the significant change in the air hanging around the room. Like the weight on their shoulder was lifted, with some strings of hope were blown into their tensed minds.</p><p> </p><p>No more hesitation. Everyone, Hongbin included, was so determined to go on with this thanks to different factors. Ambition, ego, kindness, whatever their motives were, her club was able to reach their final decision.</p><p> </p><p>Minji wasn’t sure if she should be happy about it or not. She wasn’t even sure what she truly felt about all of this. It was complicated. I swirled inside her chest, made she kind of edgy, but she tried her best to not show her uncertainty out.</p><p> </p><p>For now, she needed to look certain, and respect her club’s demand.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, I get it.”</p><p> </p><p>So, ignoring that complicated feeling, the leader reluctantly sighed in defeat before giving out a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s get this show on the road then.”</p><p> </p><p>This time, all her clubmates were smiling in return. Or not really, but Hongbin was pretty much a misfit in most of the time anyway, and he didn’t object or oppose, that was what mattered.</p><p> </p><p>The meeting ended here.</p><p> </p><p>And that was when she thought there was no more problem to concern about. Not immediately, at least.</p><p> </p><p>But she was wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Minji, before I forget…”</p><p> </p><p>Yonghoon called out to her when he was about to leave, as if he’d only realised that fact right at the moment when his foot reached the door step.</p><p> </p><p>“I know that there’s no more spotlight and all, but we still need someone helping with dimming the lights, or turning them off during each scene transition. Can you ask Yoohyeon to help us out? She’s crazily good at timing and stuffs… And we also need a hand to move all the props and costumes to the hall’s waiting room, too, ‘cause I’m sure…”</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s brain had literally stopped loading extra information after hearing that familiar name.</p><p> </p><p>It’d been a week. A week of not meeting the tall girl and the bright smile always seemed to light her face up. A week of still feeling <em>that </em>on her very own skin. A week of not being ready to meet the girl, face-to-face. And now, she would have to ask her to do her a favour?</p><p> </p><p>Good Lord…</p><p> </p><p>Could her life get any worse than it already was?</p><p>------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yoohyeon was quite grateful when receiving Yuri-unnie’s text at that time. Seriously, she thought she couldn’t handle the look on her friends’ face anymore. It was obvious that Yubin had told Gahyeon to not saying anything after that night, especially about <em>that </em>incident with Minji-sunbaenim, but…</p><p> </p><p>Well, she might not the the brightest in understanding others’ thoughts, but this? The way they all halted when nearly mentioning Minji’s name? The way they were digging elbows into each other’s rib? Or laughing out loud in the most unnatural way to cover for their blurts? That was too much for her to take in.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, what the hell was that? It was just being rejected, and it was her fault, too, for holding her hope too high after being told that her crush was falling for her. And ok, she was still feeling like an idiot, or regretting for being carried away, because damn, Minji-sunbaenim’d looked fabulous in that white dress, and yes, the way her eyes’d shone was absolutely divine, and ok, her smile after receiving that not-so-pretty dreamcatcher was so bright and heart-melting, so much that she couldn’t hold herself back, and fine, she hadn’t been sleeping well, partly because of Chanmi’s death, but…</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t <em>that </em>big deal, was it?</p><p> </p><p>“Hey kiddo.” Smiling in her usual black suit, Yuri-unnie waved her hand at her, and Yoohyeon was never gladder to see her future sister-in-law like this. “You look like I’m your saviour or something… Did I just save you from detention of any kind? ‘Cause if the answer’s yes, I’m sure Yeonnie will murder me when she’s on top, sweetly and gently and…”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl frowned. Her sister’s shenanigans, especially in the bedroom, was the last thing she needed to know, so…</p><p> </p><p>“Unnie, really, stop.” Snapping her finger, she pulled the elder girl back to reality. “I didn’t have any detention. I was just hanging out with Yubin, Gahyeonie, and Dongie, that’s all…”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why did your reply sound so relieved?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was dumbfounded. And speechless, too. Was this woman even real? How could she tell that via a mere text message? Did she have some sort of superpower or something? Mind-reading? Emotion-controlling or something like that?</p><p> </p><p>“Your thoughts are all over the place, Yoo.” The elder finally chuckled. “And I don’t need to have superpower to be able to feel it even if it was through a machine. It’s not that hard, really.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t buy her word at all. It was hard for <em>her. </em>Even if someone was standing in front of her…</p><p> </p><p>Her brain decided to rewind at the scene with Minji-sunbaenim in her gorgeous white dress. With her beautifully glittering eyes. And the brightest smile on her lips. At the most inappropriate time possible. Thanks brain. Great job.</p><p> </p><p>“So… Wanna talk about it?” Yuri-unnie’s kind smile didn’t really help her chest less twitched, but it warmed her up somehow. “I’ll always listen, you know, if there’s anything you wanna talk about.”</p><p> </p><p>Damn. Sometimes she just wished that this woman wasn’t this skilled on making her want to say something she didn’t really want to. But anyway, today, this time, she remained silent. Not because she didn’t want to talk about it. Okay, maybe, partly, but mostly was because she didn’t really know where to start.</p><p> </p><p>Things seemed to be a mess for a very long time. Longer than she could reckon, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not too sure myself.” Shaking her head, she changed the subject with an obvious lie. “Anyway, why did you call me here?”</p><p> </p><p>Whether it was the elder taking her hidden message well, or the topic was too important that she forgot to ask about her fucked up school life, Yuri-unnie didn’t show. It could be both, for sure, but Yoohyeon was more certain on the latter possibility. There must be something crucial, or otherwise, why would she call her here, to the crime scene where Chanmi’s been killed a week ago, for?</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes aimed at the centre of the stage. The dried blood hadn’t been cleaned yet. There was white chalk line shaping where the poor girl’s body had laid dead, too. The heavy light frame was removed, obviously, but overall, the scene was still fresh in her brain, and coming back here, with all of this, it didn’t make that much of a difference.</p><p> </p><p>Except now she was calmer. And wasn’t confused because of what happened with Minji-sunbaenim. Wasn't <em>t</em><em>oo </em>confused, to be exact, but anyway. Still didn’t make a big difference, though.</p><p> </p><p>“I wanna make a test.” Yuri-unnie nonchalantly shrugged. “Everything was pretty obvious, the way he killed her, I mean, so the last two unknown things are how he got out of the crime scene, and yeah, who he is. Oh, actually, make it three…”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl cocked an eyebrow. “You mean the next victim, too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup.” The elder girl didn’t seem impressed, but her I-knew-you-would-know-it eyes did inflate the ball of pride in Yoohyeon’s chest, at least tenth times bigger than it normally was. “But Irene’s gonna take care of that. Her abnormal beauty is a powerful weapon when coming to seduce people spitting out their dirtiest secrets, so we don’t have to worry about that for now.”</p><p> </p><p>The eagerness in her was deflated faster than she thought. Oh well. She might have had some clues about that, too, after knowing Chanmi as the first victim, but…</p><p> </p><p>That was too cruel for Gahyeonie. Even some emotionally dense one like her had to admit that. The youngest of them still hadn’t recovered from…</p><p> </p><p>“So yeah.” Lucky her, Yuri-unnie didn’t notice her down mood. <em>Yet.</em> “And now, we have to release the crime scene because the case’s closed.” She paused with a sarcastic shrug. “On paperwork, of course. So here’s the chance for me to get you here, and test out what exactly happened on that night. Let’s see if we can find out the answer for those two big questions, or well, one of them would be a huge success at this point already.”</p><p> </p><p>Now that was something noticeable.</p><p> </p><p>“Is he really that good?” Biting her lips, Yoohyeon incredulously asked. “He left nothing behind?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not really, ‘cause no one could, obviously.” Her unnie just waved her off. “But yeah. Still. His identity remained hidden. But I think you’ve heard this from Yeonnie before, haven’t you? Just go and have a look…”</p><p> </p><p>“Even if you don’t know what you’re looking for.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl finished her reminder, and gained from the elder a satisfied smile for herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so if I’m not wrong, you want me to try running to the top and time myself? Or no…” She fixed herself after reconsidering another option. “You go there first, and time me running. That’ll be more precise…”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s all I could expect from you.” Yuri-unnie happily nodded. “So… Ready for some workout? Your snack’s on me, obviously, and Yeonnie knows absolutely nothing about all of this. Deal?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was laughing out loud. The thought itself wasn’t very funny, but yeah, sharing a little secret did make her feel better for some reasons. And she knew her sister would never allow her to either having some junk food, or sticking her nose into this case, but well…</p><p> </p><p>It could be in her blood, after all. And her nerves could finally loosen up after such a long time being in a tensed mode. It was temporary, she knew, but something was better than nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“You won’t talk, I won’t talk, and unnie’ll never know.” Cracking her joints, she winked. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a whole stair to climb, so could you be so kind to get your old ass up there and time for me, please?”</p><p>-------------------------------------------------</p><p>“That makes it three minutes and fifty-four seconds.” Yuri-unnie announced while blinking her eyes in disbelief. “Wow… You really <em>are </em>lazy in terms of training and exercises, aren’t you? That’s not much faster than my old ass walking up here, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Heavily panting, Yoohyeon threw a (hopefully) sharp glare at her unnie, while her hands still rested on her poor shaking knees. But seriously, the elder was damn right. She was so out of shape, and clearly, her days spent on study and gaming didn’t do anything to help her stabilise her own breath after a long run. Damn it. But really. It must be… erm… how many steps were there again? A hundred? Or a hundred fifty?</p><p> </p><p>“And there’re about fifty steps <em>only</em>.” As if she could read her mind, the elder bluntly said while scratching her eyebrows. “No wonder why Yeonnie was furious after knowing you went up here all alone… But well, anyway, that’s why I need you to take the test instead of anyone else…”</p><p> </p><p>Dang. This woman, she couldn’t help but throwing another glare at her. Teasing must be air to her, the younger reckoned, or otherwise, how could she have to do it every one minute? As if she would die if she didn’t, but anyway. Lucky her, Yoohyeon didn’t even have enough either strength or mind to fire back.</p><p> </p><p>God blessed her poor body. How could she be so weak? She was only sixteen, for God’s sake.</p><p> </p><p>“But still…” Her unnie’s joking mood vanished in just a heartbeat while she looked at her pathetic panting form. “Three fifty-four’s pretty short, eh? Do you remember how long did it take you to realise the whole thing and start running?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon stood up, now tried to recall what’d happened back then. She remembered everything clearly, but unfortunately, time was a total different matter. It was hard to tell, ‘cause obviously, when she’d faced the very first corpse in her life, a second’d felt like a minute. Maybe it was even longer, considering she’d been in a hurry to catch this vanishing bastard, so…</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t be sure to be honest…” She shook her head in disappointment. “But it shouldn’t be longer than a minute…”</p><p> </p><p>Pouting, the elder raised her eyebrow. “How about the run from the stage to that door?”</p><p> </p><p>“We can re-time that, if you want to.” Yoohyeon suggested, finally could stabilise her breath, even though her legs were still shaking a little. “But I don’t think that makes a lot of difference. Don’t you think he was hiding somewhere, waited for me to come down <em>then </em>fleeing from here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I was planning on surprising you a little while waiting for your long run… To see if I could scare your ass off a bit…” Yuri-unnie despondently informed, the flashlight from her phone was aimed at her back while she gave her a shrug. “And then, oh well, you know, there’s no ‘then’. I can’t find a place to hide myself well enough. Might hang myself on this curtain…” Her phone light shone at the old curtain hung underneath their feet. “… but again, it could be even longer for him to actually get out of here before we came. And it’s dangerous, too, so I don’t think that’s what he did…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t help but teasingly shoving the elder’s shoulders. Could this woman live for a minute without teasing her? But well, she did have a point. The younger didn’t hold her hope up too high, because, ok, her memory was super short, but she remembered her surrounding in this ceiling walkway pretty well.</p><p> </p><p>And even now, when she was here once again, the surrounding in her memory wasn’t different from the current surrounding in front of her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>There was almost nothing to notice, after all. The walkway’s width was enough for only one person, and it was empty. Just a metal-built one, parallel with the ceiling, with the other end fixedly bolted to the wall.</p><p> </p><p>“No door, I’ve checked.” Her unnie monotonously listed. “No place to hide. You would notice right away if there’s anything on spot. And consider how weakly…” She jumped a little bit, and the walkway was slightly wiggling. “… supported this walkway is, I doubted there would be anyone storing anything here. So yeah…”</p><p> </p><p>“How about the shoeprints?”</p><p> </p><p>“We didn’t find much, but it’s hard telling anyway. Yours and Yubin’s might have destroyed them when you ran up here already.”</p><p> </p><p>Ouch, Yoohyeon winced in regret. Shit. Damn it. That was doubling her stupidity already. How could she be so careless? How could she not realise that by running up here, she’d helped this bastard by accidentally contaminating the crime scene? Why did she have to wait until now to realise her mistake?</p><p> </p><p>That was the stupidest one she could have made. And now, that asshole was still nowhere to be found…</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but looking at her unnie, eyes filled with guilt and unspoken apologies of all kind. Really, being a hindrance was the last thing she wanted to be, but…</p><p> </p><p>Sadly, not everything she wanted would come true. She was still a hindrance to Yuri-unnie, and now…</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>But surprisingly, Yuri-unnie didn’t seem pissed by her stupidity. Not even one bit. Was she just simply good at hiding her emotion? Or was she just too good at controlling her own feelings? How could she not get mad at Yoohyeon? It was an unforgivable mistake, after all… But then…</p><p> </p><p>“Unnie?”</p><p> </p><p>The elder just hummed in response.</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you supposed to be mad at me?”</p><p> </p><p>Being pulled out of her thoughts, Yuri-unnie finally spared her a look, a string of confusion flashed in her brown eyes. Felt like she didn’t quite get what Yoohyeon just asked, but her confusion moment didn’t last long. Her warm eyes fixed on her, observed her carefully, which didn’t make her feel any better. But then, to the younger’s surprise, her unnie’s lips just curled up, and a gentle and warm smile was painted on her face, so bright that Yoohyeon had thought that it was actually shining, even in the darkest place like an old stage ceiling like this.</p><p> </p><p>Okay… This must be one of the many reasons why Taeyeon-unnie fell for her, definitely.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe I should, but I can’t.” Shrugging, she bluntly admitted. “It’s hard, you know? ‘Cause if I were you, I would do the exact same thing as you did.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger couldn’t say anything. Sure, Yuri-unnie didn’t look like a calm type, or rational even, but it was kinda hard to believe an experienced officer like her would do something as stupid as… that.</p><p> </p><p>But the elder seemed… sincere. And honest. And she couldn’t find anything telling her that she was saying all of this just to comfort her stupid little ego. No, especially when Yuri-unnie chuckled, half amused half nostalgic, as if she was thinking about some good old memory.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeonnie <em>hated </em>me so much when we first met, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, what?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon blinked in disbelief. Her sister? Hated this woman? How?</p><p> </p><p>“I messed up big time.” The elder shrugged. “The scene was full of my shoeprints, my dirt, my blood, and the gun powder from my gun destroyed literally everything. We caught the guy, luckily, but we almost couldn’t bring him to the court because like I said, I.destroyed.almost.everything.that.should.have.been.used.as.evidences.against.him.on.court.”</p><p> </p><p>Whoops… Now she understood. If there was anything her sister hated the most, it would be her job being turned into a mess because of some stupid colleagues of hers. Oh, and don’t get her wrong. She acknowledged that their intention might be good, alright, but enthusiasm plus idiocy did equal to chaotic disaster, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh well, eventually, her brilliant brain saved my ass, and that guy’s still staying behind the wall of our prison. I won’t say it’s not stupid, because you know, it <em>is. </em>Being a hothead sucks, really…”</p><p> </p><p>The younger pressed her lips together. That was totally relatable, unfortunately. She couldn’t even count how many times she’d messed things up in her entire existence, not to mention that some of the consequences weren’t even fixable thanks to her excessive eagerness.</p><p> </p><p>Damn.</p><p> </p><p>“But you know what?”</p><p> </p><p>Facing the light flashing in her mischievous eyes, Yoohyeon cocked an eyebrow. “What?”</p><p> </p><p>“If I’d protected the scene and let that guy escape, he might have killed more than three innocent people, so sometimes, being a hothead could be advantageous, don’t you think?” She winked at her, a dramatical one only making her beautiful face become a living meme. “And that’s your sister’s word, not mine. You can ask her if you don’t believe me.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger couldn’t help but smiling. It wasn’t very convincing, because well, it didn’t feel like being a hothead was something good, and their guy in this case had successfully sneaked away right under her nose, but anyway. Yuri-unnie dramatic wink was amusing. And it warmed her chest up, too, even though she didn’t really know why. But she was still grateful for it, because for now? That was more than enough for her to be able to kick it to the back of her head in the meantime.</p><p> </p><p>“Besides, a clean crime scene like this isn’t rare anymore.” Her unnie folded her arms, elegant eyebrows slightly furrowed in despondence. “Recently I’ve been having quite a lot. Better than having lots and lots of false evidences leading to nowhere, but still. Couldn’t find anything at first sight annoys the hell out of me, really…”</p><p> </p><p>Now the younger couldn’t hold back another frown. She still remembered it. What Taeyeon-unnie’d told her last week. “What about that abnormal spot?”</p><p> </p><p>“Haven’t found out what was here to form it, but…” The elder pointed her finger to her back. “There you go. You can have a look if you want to.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon didn’t need a second invitation. She walked past her unnie, and damn, even though she was so thin, and Yuri-unnie had tried to step aside as much as she could, she still had to squeeze herself to get through. In this case, that bastard would have to be a wind to be able to walk pass her without being noticed.</p><p> </p><p>Great. Another possibility turned out to be impossible.</p><p> </p><p>But then she saw it. That-used-to-be-dustless spot Taeyeon-unnie had mentioned once. Her unnie was correct. And <em>very </em>specific in terms of describing it as well. A nearly dustless circle, about thirty-centimetre wide in diameter, and to be honest, it could be anything at this point. So she attentively stepped aside, carefully to not tread on the area before leaning her stomach on the bannister, and looking down.</p><p> </p><p>The spot was on top of an old piece of unused stage weight, with a bunch of ropes, hooks, and sandbags around. Yoohyeon’s phone shifted to the ceiling. Again, all she could see were more ropes, nets, pulleys, and lots and lots of unused heavy craps she didn’t even know what they were.</p><p> </p><p>Then her eyes went back to observe the spot. It wasn’t completely dustless, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Can I touch it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure.” Yuri-unnie shrugged again. “We vacuumed everything already, but yeah, suit yourself. And this scene was already released, so technically, it isn’t our scene or our case anymore, so go ahead.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger girl looked at her unnie, as if this was the first time she’d actually looked at her after a long time no see. There was a hint of well-hidden bitterness, which was transformed into a sarcastic comment, in her sweet voice, but Yoohyeon was pretty sure it was there.</p><p> </p><p>Then again, it might be rare seeing it in her oh-so-smiley-and-carefree-all-the-time unnie, but it was relatable. She still remembered how anger had boiled her inside out after knowing the elder must announce this death as an accident, and it wasn’t long enough for her to forget anyway.</p><p> </p><p>And she couldn’t find out what to say to reassure her unnie, so she just turned around, and touched the spot.</p><p> </p><p>It was kinda gritty because of the anti-slip pattern on the metal surface. And there was a thin layer of dust on it, too, which was understandable. It’d been a week, and this place was still, literally, covered in dust. But other than that…</p><p> </p><p>“You said you guys vacuumed the scene?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh.” Folding her arms, Yuri-unnie confirmed by a hum. “Basic crime scene investigation protocol, and yeah, before you ask, I made sure whoever took this case had done their jobs right. I had a feeling your school would have covered it, so gathering as much information as I could while I’m still able to was the least thing I can do. It’s easier if it was Yeonnie taking the case, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Oh yeah, Yoohyeon nodded in agreement. She never saw Taeyeon-unnie working on site, but it wasn’t hard to imagine her being excessively careful when coming to investigating crime scene of any kind. It was a pity, really, but there was nothing much she could do about it.</p><p> </p><p>Just like she couldn’t do anything about her school’s stupid decision, that was all.</p><p> </p><p>“So did you guys find anything?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you know, dust, sand, dirt, all sort of things leading to nowhere.” Leaning on the bannister, her unnie started to rant, finger pointed out while she sarcastically listed before giving her a wink. “Which is why I <em>can</em> tell you about it, so just consider that a bright side then.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger let out a slight chuckle. She didn’t feel like it was an actual bright side, but well, maybe something was better than nothing.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t take them long to fall into silence.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t frustrating, but it felt… trapped. Like they were heading toward a stubbornly thick wall with no weak point to break out from it. And after a while of thinking, both of them just looked at each other, before letting out a heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“So you wanna try timing me from the stage to the door?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie nonchalantly shrugged. “Sure, but like you said, maybe it won’t make a difference, but well…”</p><p> </p><p>And they were right. It didn’t take them long to get to the ground to test again. And…</p><p> </p><p>“Twenty secs, nearly twenty-one.” Yuri-unnie said, index finger scratched her chin. “In an adrenaline filled-up state, I guess your running time could be down to seventeen or eighteen. Fifteen max, or something like that, but still…”</p><p> </p><p>Fifteen? Or twenty? It was even shorter than her imagination, and it didn’t make any sense.</p><p> </p><p>How can a human disappear from a place that was four-meter in height, in twenty seconds only?</p><p> </p><p>“Or… Do you think he wasn’t up there at that time?” She suggested another possibility. “Like, he could use some trick to cut the wire without having to be there? The sound I heard might just be my own imagination, and those evidences were left behind when he went up there beforehand to prepare for it?”</p><p> </p><p>There came a short pause of consideration, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe, maybe not.” Yuri-unnie put her phone back to her pant pocket. “With this much information? I can’t confirm yet.”</p><p> </p><p>So it was neither an agreement nor denial, but Yoohyeon knew her unnie had a point. What they had in hand right now wasn’t enough. Anything could have happened, and she knew the elder wouldn’t dare excluding any possibilities at this stage, like, at all.</p><p> </p><p>Damn. This bastard… How long had he been scheming all of this? It was far from any half-assed plans <em>she </em>had tried making up when being Yubin’s beta reader. Four months, considering when the first threat’d been sent? Or even longer than that?</p><p> </p><p>And what made him spent so much time on plotting to murder someone this brutally? Did he benefit anything from Chanmi’s death? No, that couldn’t be. Killing for benefits shouldn’t be <em>this </em>noisy. Too much attention wasn’t a wise move, and she was sure someone with this mind would have known that in the beginning. Pretending as an accident, or faking her death as a suicide case would be a much better and more reasonable option.</p><p> </p><p>Especially at this school. Famous, for being the school of roof-jumpers.</p><p> </p><p>How irony.</p><p> </p><p>So… No benefits… Then could it be hatred?</p><p> </p><p>Sinners… Conceal… The malicious threats… That did sound logical. A possibility she couldn’t eliminate. And it was the most reasonable one so far.</p><p> </p><p>But rational speaking, there was another possibility, too. Considering how well-thought his plan had been…</p><p> </p><p>What if this asshole, being able to predict what she might think of, had chosen this to method to cover up for his true intention?</p><p> </p><p>What if those dolls weren’t actual threats, but they were something else? Some kind of hidden messages only the culprit and his victim, or no, <em>victims</em>, knew between themselves, perhaps?</p><p> </p><p>Scratching her nape, Yoohyeon let out a really heavy sigh. If that was the case, then just investigating who’d had conflicts with Chanmi when she’d been alive wouldn’t be enough.</p><p> </p><p>Or was it just hatred? Was she just complicating things?</p><p> </p><p>Damn it. If only Gahyeonnie could…</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, and Yoo?”</p><p> </p><p>Her unnie suddenly called out in the corner of the theatre. Being pulled out of her thought, the younger girl confusedly looked up, and only then she realised her unnie had been holding the register-to-use the theatre book in her hand since… Well, she had no idea since when had she been there, but it didn’t matter anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, unnie?”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s the date today?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon blinked in confusion. She didn’t really understand why the elder woman asked her that simple question, but she still fished her phone out of her pocket to have a quick look. “April the fifth. Why are you…?”</p><p> </p><p>But clearly, her unnie didn’t pay her any attention after receiving the answer she needed.</p><p> </p><p>“April the fifth… April the fifth…” Yuri-unnie mumbled, before asking out loud again. “And when were the first two dolls sent?”</p><p> </p><p>Now that officially piqued the younger’s curiosity. “I'm not sure about the first one, but you can check the date when the theatre club was practicing with the orchestra club. If I'm not wrong, there're about three dates like that. And the second one… The end of January, I think? The theatre club was practicing with the vocal club, and there's only one date matched on January anyway…” Hesitantly, she replied to her. “Unnie, did you…?”</p><p> </p><p>But her question was never completed. There was this weird seriousness appearing on the elder’s face, and she looked so focused that her question wouldn’t be able to reach to her brain. But what was that? What made her squinting her eyes like that? What made her frowning? What was she suspecting?</p><p> </p><p>And her eyes went wide opened when another idea striking her brain. Could it be…?</p><p> </p><p>“Yoohyeonnie?”</p><p> </p><p>Her train of thought was cut off, again.</p><p> </p><p>Normally, she might be frustrated, and probably, she might even snap with whoever messed up with her thinking process, especially at this important point, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Minji-sunbaenim?”</p><p> </p><p>She weakly called out in surprise, every circuit in her brain was fried in a matter of heartbeat. She didn’t even notice Yuri-unnie was raising her eyebrows, half curious half anticipating in what was going on. But really, could she blame her for being stupor all of a sudden? While the only thing remained in her mind at that moment was the image of the elder girl? Her familiar facial features? Her beautiful eyes? Her gentle look? Her lingering floral perfume from that day?</p><p> </p><p>And a smoothly soft sense of the eldest girl’s lips that might have been imprinted on her very own ones?</p><p> </p><p>Oh God…</p><p> </p><p>What a perfect timing.</p><p>-------------------------------------------</p><p>“Tell me again.” Gahyeon threw a glare at Yoohyeon while lifting up another heavy prop box. “Why did you agree to be a porter for her after being rejected? And more importantly, why are you dragging <em>us</em> into being porters, too?”</p><p> </p><p>Pushing a crazily heavy costume racks, Handong didn’t say anything, and neither did Yubin, but clearly, one eye exchange between them two was enough for the Chinese to know that the short haired, and she, too, were sharing the same thought.</p><p> </p><p>Bravo Lee Gahyeon. A very well-asked question. Their maknae really didn’t disappoint them, not even one bit.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me guess, ‘cause you’re my best friends, and you love me so much that you won’t leave me here alone doing all the heavy job?” The tallest was panting as hard as any of them, but she managed to flash out her signature silly smile. “Come on Gahyeonnie, consider this as a chance to work out a little bit, please? It’s very good for your health, and you can thank me later, when…”</p><p> </p><p>“When you’re less pathetic facing Minji-unnie, I’ll consider that. But now?” She mockingly winced. “You’re lucky I haven’t skinned you al… Hey hey idiot, you lift it up too hig…”</p><p> </p><p>A loud crank echoed in the old waiting room, and Handong poked her head out just in time to see the retractable prop knife with jewel-carved handle slowly slid, from the top of the box to the ground, colliding with the floor; hence the noise. Then, Yoohyeon, of course, was stupidly standing at her spot, then look around in nervousness, before painting out a super blandish smile on her goofy face.</p><p> </p><p>“Oopsie…”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon just let out a sigh, while Yubin quickly walked toward them, and picked up the prop.</p><p> </p><p>“Lucky <em>you</em>, it’s not broken.” She said after a few seconds of checking. “Or you know what? If you wanna break it, just do it now when Yonghoon-sunbaenim still has time to re-make a new one…”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t do that on purpose, I swear…”</p><p> </p><p>Pouting, the tallest mosquito-likely defended herself, but the gaze she threw at the prop in the short haired’s hands was kinda… unhappy? But well, the Chinese could easily understand why. That knife was an important part of the play. And it was hard seeing Minji-sunbaenim…</p><p> </p><p>“But really, how can you think of <em>that </em>scene, Binnie? Just curious, no offense, ‘cause you think of her when writing the script, right? How could you imagine her stabbing someone? I’m still not used to it, you know? She looks so kind and gentle… Seeing her like that is so…”</p><p> </p><p>Ah yes, right on spot. Reading Yoohyeon’s thoughts was indeed effortless, and she wasn’t even exaggerating, not even one bit.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, don’t blame it on me.” Yubin calmly shrugged. “It was Minji-unnie’s idea, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Now it was Handong’s turn to blink in surprise. And the tallest, too. But actually, if she had to be fair, it wasn’t something she should be surprised about. Just looking at the contents on Minji-sunbaenim’s YouTube channel, and she knew. Singing, dancing, acting, Q&amp;As, and she didn’t even mention the weird yet creative stuffs the girl was never hesitated to try on her daily vlogs as well. So suggesting her character stabbing the last person ruining her life, only to be stopped by the protagonist, whom she loved so badly, and had just revealed her whole crime to the rest?</p><p> </p><p>It was quite… Minji-y, to be honest.</p><p> </p><p>And oh, yes~ The pain… That scene would hurt every girl’s weak heart, for sure. What she wasn’t sure about now is whether the Hongji-ship could safely set sail and get a lot of shippers on board, or their individual fandoms would cause a hell of a fan war, that was.</p><p> </p><p>Personally, she preferred the latter. The fan war would be interesting.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s even more impressive…” Grabbing the box more firmly, Gahyeon bluntly muttered. “Her talent, I mean. Man, I could never imagine her being so full of hatred and pain like that if I didn’t see it with my own eye. I almost feel sorry for her for not being able to kill the last asshole, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Yoohyeon didn’t object. “True.” was all she could not-very-eagerly say after a nod.</p><p> </p><p>“If it’s not Hongbin playing the protagonist, then it’s perfect.” The youngest continued commenting. “But again, it’s hard to see a bastard like him being so nice and tell his heroine that they deserved to be happy, not suffering from that hell of hatred…” She suddenly cringed, might be because the thought itself was quite ridiculous. “… so I guess he’s talented in some ways, too…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong silently hummed in agreement. Acting out someone they were not was definitely not easy, and Minji-sunbaenim’s acting skills were the real deal.</p><p> </p><p>Lee Hongbin, however, she didn’t know the guy much, and that was partly because she was kind of avoiding him, too. Similar to Chanmi, that guy didn’t leave her any good impression on the first look, but his acting ability was pretty good, if she had to be fair.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s why he’s the vice leader, and he’s playing the protagonist in this play, Gahyeonnie.” Yubin finally got back to help her with the costume rack. “Speaking of talent, he and Minji-unnie are the best. Seonghwa is still lacking a little bit when coming to understand his character, and Youngjo-sunbaenim’s style and expression are quite inflexible, unfortunately, even though both of them wanted Hongbin-sunbaenim’s role so bad…”</p><p> </p><p>“So basically, not everyone in the club goes well with each other?”</p><p> </p><p>“What can I say?” Trying to suppress a smile, the short haired said with a nonchalant shrug. “Everyone wants attention, but in order to have a spotlight…”</p><p> </p><p>“There must be someone willing to stay in the back.” Handong helped her finish the sentence. “Got it. That’s so dramatic… And no puns intended here.”</p><p> </p><p>Of course everyone knew it was intended, so they just let out a short laugh, before Gahyeon realised something and squinted her eyes at the tallest, totally incredulous.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve been pretty good at changing the subject, haven’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Oops, the Chinese could see that the youngest had hit the bullseye. Yoohyeon averted her eyes to anywhere but the girl walking opposite to her, then let out a nervous laugh. “Have I?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was asking, why did you agree to help her, hello? She rejected you after that accident kiss, didn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon blushed, so hard and so fast, like there was someone’d just flipped the switch. Clearly, she was reminded of that day, and was suffering from that mixture of complicated emotions, which Handong couldn’t blame her for that. Hell, even she wouldn’t have known what to do in that situation. To be so lost in the other’s eyes, get carried away by that precious moment, enough to lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek. Only to capture her lips instead, while she coincidently turned her head around.</p><p> </p><p>That, indeed, was a dream came true.</p><p> </p><p>But well, dreams were unreal, and reality was cruel. The Chinese didn’t need to listen to the rest of the story to know what had happened. With the tallest’s face on that day? Maybe, a “I’m sorry, I like you, but not in that way.” had been what she said after that kiss. Or something similar. Yoohyeon hadn’t told them the details, but she, just like the other two, would spare her that last part.</p><p> </p><p>The distance between heaven and hell wasn’t as far as she thought it would be, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just giving out a hand, not much, though…” The tall girl quietly said. “They need to re-practice the positioning from the scratch, so yeah, the more people helping, the faster they can get into practice, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon faked out a smile when seeing Seunghee, Youngjo, and Yujin walking past them with smaller boxes in their hand. The youngest waited until the girl was out of their sight, then letting out a heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re too kind to her, and it’s annoying. Like she’s using you and you just let her do it, that’s what I’m trying to say…”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing of the sort, I swear.” Yoohyeon quickly cut her off. “I’m stupid, but I still know when people are using me, really. They need my help with the lighting control, and well… We’re the only ones knowing all the plots already, aren’t we? Watch out for that step…” Carefully moving backward with the box in hand, she continued in a lower voice. “She doesn’t seem like she has any other choices, though. And believe me, if she had, she wouldn’t come to <em>me</em>, really. She didn’t look very… uhm, <em>her</em>, when asking me to help, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Now, Gahyeon rolled her eyes, half despondent half frustrated, but the youngest didn’t say anything.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that I agree.” Giving the clothing rack another push, Yubin nodded, voice was muffled because of those fabric pieces hung before her face. “Taking advantages of someone else is definitely not her thing. Actually, it even sounds weird if she does…”</p><p> </p><p>“And don’t forget, she’s avoiding me.” Yoohyeon let out a mocking laugh, but Handong didn’t miss the hint of sadness in her voice. “I can’t recall if there was any time she didn’t look me in the eye, and now, all I have is her avoiding making all sort of eye-contact with me, specifically. And I’m pretty sure you can’t see me being with her alone anymore, ‘cause she told me, and I quote, ‘You’ve been apologising enough, Yoohyeonie.’. She said it’s alright, but obviously…”</p><p> </p><p>She left the comment unfinished, but they all knew what she wanted to say. No one uttered another word, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Not a very comfortable one, unfortunately, but well, who could be, if none of them knew what else to say to soothe their friend’s hurt even just a little?</p><p> </p><p>“By the way, what did Yuri-unnie call you out for?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject. And Handong could see the giant-dwarf pair was beyond happy to be able to talk about anything but Yoohyeon’s fucked up series, episode uncountable at this point.</p><p> </p><p>So, the tallest started telling them everything. About how the two of them trying to re-create what had actually happened. About how the scene was left with not so many evidences behind. How the killer identity remained unknown. And how he’d sneaked out under everyone’s nose to completely disappear from the scene without being noticed.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese remained silent all the time. She neither said, nor asked anything. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help it. The more she listened to what Yoohyeon said, the more her inner interest for this killer grew. It was like a snowball, really. She wasn’t even sure if she was scared of him. Well, it was hard to tell. Rationally, she should be, but…</p><p> </p><p>Maybe Handong wasn’t scared of him that much. And she definitely didn’t hate him or so. If she had to describe it, then perhaps, this guy to her was like… a subject of experiment? He was different. He stood out. She wanted to understand more about him. Not to sympathise with him, no.</p><p> </p><p>It was plainly curiousity. Any guy could bypass her Yoohyeon and the police, and still be able to keep his face hidden even after a few days of investigating deserved that much, didn’t he?</p><p> </p><p>Besides, there was something about this killer…</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right, I almost forgot.” Yoohyeon’s word brought her back to the ground. “Hey Yubin, do you remember what date was the second doll sent? The date when the vocal club have their practice at the theatre with the theatre club? I just remember it was the end of January, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait…” The Chinese raised her eyebrow. “You were at the theatre, weren’t you? Why didn’t you check the register…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, don’t ask, Dong-unnie.” Gahyeon mockingly answered on the tallest’s behalf. “Minji-unnie asked me where she was, so it must be this idiot let her interrupt the whole thing. Again.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon didn’t confirm the youngest’s word, but the way she visibly averted her eyes with an obvious blush did it for her anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“So… About the date.” Pouting and heavily breathing, she winced, hard, and changed the subject again. “Do you remember that?”</p><p> </p><p>“January, the twenty-ninth.” Yubin frowned, clearly incredulous. “Why? Did you figure out something?”</p><p> </p><p>But she didn’t get an answer.</p><p> </p><p>“We were back to school on the twenty-seventh…” Mumbling, the tall girl asked another question instead. “And the date the first doll was sent?”</p><p> </p><p>Obviously, Yubin didn’t have more clues than either Handong or Gahyeon, but she still replied. “No idea. There’re three possible ones…”</p><p> </p><p>“Which are…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Fourteenth, twenty-second, and thirtieth, last De…”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, thirtieth?” Blinking, Yoohyeon blurted out loud, clearly bewildered. “Not twenty-seventh? Are you sure?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired poked her head out of the rack with a frown. “Are you questioning my memory?”</p><p> </p><p>“Er… No?” The blandishing smile on her goofy face was kinda annoyingly cute. “Just to make sure, ‘cause you know, I kinda guessed, or, ok, hoped that it was the twenty-seventh, that’s all…”</p><p> </p><p>“But why…?” Gahyeon’s question was left unfinished while her eyes widely opened in realisation. “Oh, you mean you thought our guy chose that two exact dates? The twenty-ninth of this month, then the twenty-seventh of the next month, then back to the twenty-ninth in the next?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon despondently nodded. “And if it’s true, then even though I don’t know why he chose the twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth, but the next day he kills someone might be the twenty-seventh of <em>this</em> month…”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, that, Handong couldn’t hold her blinking. The twenty-seventh of April was…</p><p> </p><p>“The newly scheduled date of the official Spring Festival.”</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly.”</p><p> </p><p>Now the Chinese had finally understood. So far, everything made sense, and it even made more sense if she thought about it more carefully. This killer didn’t seem to mind murdering in the middle of the crowd. Normally, no one would ever do that. The risks were too big. He could possibly fail at killing his target, and the chance of being caught was way too high.</p><p> </p><p>But on the other hand, if he succeeded, which he had, it would be a hell of an impressive crime scene. Like a work of art, so to speak.</p><p> </p><p>And Chanmi’s death’d happened on a rehearsal night. If that only was a rehearsal to him… Then when could be more suitable to kill the next victim of his than the official Spring Festival itself?</p><p> </p><p>So like she thought, every piece fell into its place, except…</p><p> </p><p>“Those three dates really don’t match, so I guess that’s not it, then…” The tall girl concluded, before continuing to move. “So we’re back to square one. I can’t be sure if it really was the thirtieth, either. It can still be the fourteenth or…”</p><p> </p><p>“Thirtieth sounds about right, though.” The youngest nonchalantly commented. “It doesn’t make up a pattern, but those dates are all in the end of each month, aren’t they?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Yoohyeon didn’t object. In fact, she just remained silence, arms continued to lift the box with Gahyeon’s help, legs were moving, but her mind was obviously not here. Which was understandable. It seemed like they were pretty close to reveal some more information about this case. A closer step to this killer, and yet…</p><p> </p><p>It was another dead end, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>Under the moonlight no sinners could hide…</p><p> </p><p>How many more sinners did he intend to kill? How many more deaths must occur before he decided that it was enough?</p><p> </p><p>And before that…</p><p> </p><p>How did he define someone as a sinner? Or how could he have found them? Exposing them under the moonlight or what?</p><p> </p><p>Under the moonlight?</p><p> </p><p>Under the moonlight… Moonlight… Moonlight… Moonlight…</p><p> </p><p>The moon… The moon…</p><p> </p><p><em>Wait…</em> The moon?</p><p> </p><p>Handong’s hands stopped pushing the rack, eyes widely opened in disbelief. Moonlight? Events occurred at the end of every month? Could it be…</p><p> </p><p>“The lunar calendar?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon and she blurted out in unison, except she was asking, and the tallest girl was confirming it in a quiet tone. Their eyes locked up with each other, half interested half amazed. But it didn’t matter. The only thing they cared about now was…</p><p> </p><p>That was it. It was right, and it had to be. There was no way two of them, with separate thinking process, didn’t even exchange their thoughts for once, came to a <em>wrong </em>conclusion at the same time, wasn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>“Er… What are you guys…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Put it down here a little bit, Gahyeonie, I have to check this first…” There was this satisfied and pure smile that the Chinese hadn’t seen it on the tallest’s face for quite a while when she clumsily fished her phone out of her vest pocket, and sat on the floor. “I don’t think I’m wrong this time. It has to be it. All those dates are exactly twenty-nine days apart. And Dongie realised it at the same time as I did, so it can’t be coincident, it can’t…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese was speechless.</p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t entirely the case, though. Alright, she did notice the date could mean something if they used the Lunar calendar instead of the Solar one, but… Heck… The number of days apart? Who could have thought? And who would actually sit down and calculate, or no, count <em>that </em>anyway? At least, she wouldn’t, and she was sure not so many people would.</p><p> </p><p>Yet again, Yoohyeon was nowhere near ordinary people anyway…</p><p> </p><p>Giving out a nonchalant shrug to Yubin’s questioning eyebrow, she shook her head as a don’t-ask gesture, before joining the other two to look at the tall girl tiny phone screen, which were displaying the dates and months of a lunisolar calendar.</p><p> </p><p>The longer she scrolled, the wider their eyes were.</p><p> </p><p>“My God…” Handong’s brain seemed to stop functioning. “Holy…”</p><p> </p><p>Even in her dream, she’d never expected her to be correct. Not in this way.</p><p> </p><p>Twenty-ninth of March, the grand rehearsal night. Twenty-seventh of February, the third doll’d been sent. Twenty-ninth of January, the second doll’d been sent. Thirtieth of December, the first doll might have been sent.</p><p> </p><p>Different dates on the solar calendar, but shared the same number on its lunar counterpart.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously?” Yubin blinked, couldn’t believe that they finally found something worthwhile. “The fifteenth?”</p><p> </p><p>“Finally…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s lips painted out a victorious smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Serve you right, you bitch.”</p><p> </p><p>But her smile, sadly, didn’t last very long.</p><p> </p><p>No, especially when she searched for the incoming full moon to know the possible date of the next killing, and realised that very simple fact.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit…” Eyes widened; she couldn’t help but gasping. “Holy shit…”</p><p> </p><p>And Handong totally understood why. It was easy to find. It was clear as daylight. And the date was the day all four of them were too familiar with.</p><p> </p><p>The twenty-seventh of April, twenty twenty-one.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s…” The short haired mumbled in disbelief. “He’s seriously gonna kill someone at the Spring Festival?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese couldn’t hold back the goosebump attacking every corner of her body. Yubin’s question was pretty easy to answer though. The killer was fearless when coming to killing. And very determined, too. If a crowd of hundreds of people couldn’t stop him, then what could ever make him hesitate to murder someone in cold-blood, to bring the sinners to his twisted justice? A bigger crowd? Or the importance of the event itself?</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t think so. The thought of it was ridiculous enough. If anything, Chanmi’s death was the beginning scene. A mere rehearsal, that was.</p><p> </p><p>And if her death was only a rehearsal, then the official Spring Fes would be…</p><p> </p><p>“A grande finale.” Handong unconsciously blurted. “How can our Full Moon Killer miss it? No one can stop him after all…”</p><p> </p><p>Those were facts, to be honest. And seriously, who could stop him now?</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon, however, didn’t really share her opinion this time. Putting the phone back to her pocket, the tall girl huffed out, her arms folded, totally unsatisfied.</p><p> </p><p>“I agree with almost everything you said, except for these twos…”</p><p> </p><p>Her index finger pointed up when the Chinese frowned back.</p><p> </p><p>“The Full Moon Killer?” The tallest winced in reluctance. “That name is precise, fine, but it’s way too cool for a murderer like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh God, Handong couldn’t help but rolling her eyes. Was now the time to even talk about some petty thing like that? But her friend didn’t seem to care that much anyway. Pointing her middle finger up, she raised her eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>“And no one can stop him, you said?”</p><p> </p><p>Sniggering in disagreement, Yoohyeon leaned her palms on her knees, then slowly stood up.</p><p> </p><p>“I beg to differ, though.”</p><p> </p><p>Her gaze now fixed on the Chinese’s incredulous face.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care how brilliant he is, or how many steps he plans ahead. If that bastard wants to kill again, he must go over my dead body first.”</p><p> </p><p>A stubborn string of determination flashed in her bright brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I will stop him. Even if that’s the last thing I can do, I swear to God, I will put a stop to all of this mess, and find out who this cold-blood bastard is.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong continuously blinked. Well, she didn’t think her normally goofy and smiley Yoohyeon could be this cool when the girl turned on her serious mode. Almost enough to make her fangirling, but then, her attention couldn’t fix on her tall friend for too long, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>It got shifted.</p><p> </p><p>From Yoohyeon’s persistent gaze to Gahyeon’s tensed shoulders, clenched jaws, balled fists, and slightly trembling frame. As if the poor girl was mustering every effort she had just to remain her calmness, which she had miserably failed, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese couldn’t help but wondering. There were at least ten questions running through her head when seeing the usually loud dongsaeng in this state, but all of them, including the concerning ones, were stopped right on the verge of her lips.</p><p> </p><p>Yubin’d just shook her head with an implicative glance. <em>“I’ll tell you later.” </em>She silently promised. <em>“Just let her be for now.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Handong didn’t want to, but she obeyed her friend’s suggestion nonetheless.</p><p> </p><p>She doubted Gahyeon would be able to answer her questions.</p><p> </p><p>She also doubted if the poor girl would want to answer her questions, anyway.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To be honest, I'm not too sure if there's anyone feeling bored because there's not much tension, but yeah, I personally think that's how thing should be in real life... I myself couldn't wait until the grand finale, but well, curse my preference of writing things as realistic as possible then LOL. Let me know what you think, too, and please bare with me until the very end~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. "Haven't you blamed yourself enough?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Haven't you blamed yourself enough?"</p><p>Gahyeon's mistake in the past revealed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Somehow, I felt like it was a long time since the last update. I mean, I've finished the first half in around 2 days, but... The 2-night concerts were so good that I was too high to write, and the last part of this chapter was really hard to deliver T.T I'm not very happy with it to be honest, but well... I hoped it's still an enjoyable ride :"&gt; Thank you for the supports, and enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Handong had never imagined herself being at a sleep party.</p><p> </p><p>Not to mention her shy (at first) personality, she hadn’t been really close to someone, not enough to spend a night at their house, with their parents, or anything like that. Besides, her friends and classmates were all busy with their study. Academic studying in China was pretty similar to Korea, especially when it came to limited free time, after all.</p><p> </p><p>But she still knew how sleep parties should be, if American movies and series weren’t a big fat lie. Movie night in pyjamas, popcorns, stupid games, illegal drinking, loosening up, and gossiping about shenanigans, such as boys they liked, girls they hated, fashion, make-up, or even sex, of all kind. Or something like that. Which partly why she didn’t dig into it.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>Well, looking at things she was experiencing right now at Yubin’s house, she would conclude that either a) Sleep parties were being severely stereotyped, or b) Directors and screenwriters were a bunch of liars. Or maybe they, too, were inexperienced like how she’d been, but anyway, that wasn’t the point.</p><p> </p><p>“Your chicken’s not gonna disappear if you just stare at them, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese turned to her right, where Yoohyeon was slowly chewing on some pieces of teokbokki. But there were plenty on her plate too, so clearly, she wasn’t the only one losing appetite here.</p><p> </p><p>“Yubin’s been up there for so long…” Putting the chopsticks down, she finally sighed. “Is Gahyeon really ok?”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl didn’t answer her question. She looked quite uncertain, so maybe, she didn’t know either, despite being the youngest’s friend since forever, so to speak. But Handong just patted her shoulder in sympathy. It must be hard for her, too. Caring but not being able to know was another kind of self-torturing, and it seemed like she was suffering from it quite a lot.</p><p> </p><p>And Yoohyeon’s grateful smile did make her feel better. A little only, but something was better than nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, I do wanna say she’s gonna be alright, but…” Now it was the tallest’s turn to sigh. “I know her. She’s tough, and strong, and all, but…”</p><p> </p><p>There came another moment of silence, but Handong didn’t say anything. She had her own thoughts on this sudden comment, but she patiently waited for whatever the girl had to say next.</p><p> </p><p>Then came another sigh, heavier than the last.</p><p> </p><p>“But she doesn’t know how to be… uhm… weak? If that makes sense?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese nodded. Maybe that wasn’t entirely precise in terms of phrasing and wording, but she understood what the tallest meant. Being strong wasn’t equivalent to having no weaknesses. Besides, being strong and appearing to be strong were two different things, too.</p><p> </p><p>The youngest, unfortunately, might fall in the latter category.</p><p> </p><p>And now, when her friend mentioned it…</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but…” She reluctantly started. “What exactly happened to her?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon put her chopsticks down, and now, her gaze fixed on her, an unreadable one, surprisingly.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not like I wanna hide things from you, or I don’t trust you or anything, but…” The tallest slowly shook her head. “Yubin told me once, and I have to agree with her about it. It’s not… right to tell you, or no, not just you, <em>anyone</em>, something about Gahyeon behind her back without her consent, is it? I’m sure if it’s you, you wouldn’t want it, either. And it’s not just some simple stuffs like me being gay, so…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong nodded, again. She was quite disappointed, but… Her friend did have a point here. It was annoying, she wouldn’t deny it, but… yeah…</p><p> </p><p>“But don’t worry.” Yoohyeon flashed out a weak smile while patting her shoulder. “I think Yubin’s working on it. Asking Gahyeon to let us tell you, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>Now she couldn’t hold back a frown. “But is it too hard for her? She must have some reasons to not tell me in the first place, mustn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>“If it’s anything, then it’s just her being scared of you leaving her.” The tall girl shrugged, and waved her off even before she was going to deny. “I know you won’t. You can have your own judgment, but I don’t think that was her fault. Neither did Yubin, so maybe, you might think the same?”</p><p> </p><p>That was pretty confusing. Handong couldn’t say anything, of course, so she didn’t interrupt her friend. The tallest didn’t seem to notice her confusion anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just… her own thought of herself being guilty and unworthy, that’s all. Or at least that’s what Binnie explained to me…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese blinked. Now that was unexpected. And what more unexpected was, Yoohyeon seemed to perfectly understand the youngest’s situation. Well, she wasn’t being mean here, and if she could be honest, this tall girl sitting next to her definitely wasn't one of those people having the highest EQ she’d ever met. Ok, one of the lowest, to be fair, but…</p><p> </p><p>And then, something hit her. The weird feeling she had when getting to know this girl more. Sure, most of the time, she was smiling and being dumb and happy and all, but… The way she talked. The way she backed down in front of Minji-sunbaenim. The way she reasoned almost everything around. The way she overly admired her sister. Now it made perfect sense.</p><p> </p><p>No wonder why they were friends. Even if the reasons were different, Gahyeon and Yoohyeon must be sharing the exact same feeling of themselves not being good enough.</p><p> </p><p>And if it was true that every Jack had his Jill, then Handong couldn’t help but wondering…</p><p> </p><p>Would Yubin be feeling the same as these twos?</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t ask. Not only because she thought Yoohyeon wouldn’t know, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin had chosen this exact time when no one knew what else to say to open the kitchen door. A string of worry flashed in her eyes when seeing their full of food plates, but she didn’t question anything. And of course, she would notice the Chinese’s half anticipating half worry, and Yoohyeon’s concerned gazes, knowing that they must be waiting for her long enough.</p><p> </p><p>Then she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“She said yes.”</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>Sitting in the corner of Yubin-unnie’s bedroom, Gahyeon hugged her knees, arms tightened every minute passing by. As if she could just disappear like she wanted to, if she hugged herself strong enough. But that wasn’t something she would do, no.</p><p> </p><p><em>“I know you won’t do it. I know you won’t let yourself do it, but…” </em>Yubin-unnie had said that when clearing everything that could make a physical harm on her body. <em>“It’s just for me, to be assured. I can’t afford losing you too, Gahyeonie, I really can’t.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>She let out a mocking chuckle. The elder should lock her in somewhere with no window, not some fucking homy place like her bedroom, to be able to clear every harmless thing out of her hand. Somewhere darker. Colder. Somewhere she deserved to be, not… this.</p><p> </p><p>But the elder was partly right. Gahyeon didn’t really think she even had the right to disappear.</p><p> </p><p>Because even if she did, then what? Nothing would change. <em>She</em> wouldn’t be back. And her only two friends in the whole wide world (maybe three now, but God knew how Dong-unnie would react after knowing what she had done, and she would never ever blame her for leaving, which she was pretty sure that was gonna be the case), even though she didn’t understand why, would be hurt as fuck.</p><p> </p><p>The only difference, and the only bright side of her disappearance was she could finally stop thinking about how stupid she’d been, but that was it.</p><p> </p><p>Selfish. And so… Gahyeon-y.</p><p> </p><p>A scold came from her throat.</p><p> </p><p>Shit… Could she be any more toxic?</p><p> </p><p>Oh well, she smirked, self-mocking. Who was she kidding? Judging on her own personalities? She could pretty much be way more toxic than this.</p><p> </p><p>Damn…</p><p> </p><p>Fuck.</p><p> </p><p>The face of her friends suddenly appeared in her brain. Heck. She was never gladder to see Yubin-unnie’s back today. And scared, too. She couldn’t stand her concerned eyes anymore, no. They were full of worries, of fear, of care, and of love. All the nicest things on Earth that she had zero right to receive. Never in her past she would think care could be some kind of burden to her like this.</p><p> </p><p>It wrenched her chest, squeezed all the air out of her lungs. Sometimes, it even felt like she couldn’t normally breathe.</p><p> </p><p>Funny how things changed…</p><p> </p><p>But… What the fuck was all of this about? Was this some kind of joke? Why did it have to be on Full Moon? She could be very frank that she cared no shit about that Chanmi. She’d heard and seen enough, even though it’d been only a few months. And she’d spent enough time to identify any bully just by a mere look.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Chanmi was definitely one of those bitches.</p><p> </p><p>No matter how well that girl could dance, or how serious she’d been with art, a person ordered her gang to humiliate another person just because they were poor, and fucked their lives up because she hadn’t liked them was just as shitty as Gahyeon herself.</p><p> </p><p>Then yet… It couldn’t be just coincident, could it?</p><p> </p><p>If it was her death only, then maybe… But what the fuck was going on? With the previous threats? All in Full Moon?</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon slowly raised her head from her knees. She was very grateful that Yoohyeon didn’t ask, but again, that idiot might not even realise it anyway. But of course, Yubin-unnie did. And…</p><p> </p><p>Her gaze landed on the elder’s laptop. The screen was still flashing out a dim blue light. The only light she could see in the dark. Familiar. Tempting. And nostalgic.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t get it. Or maybe she just didn’t want to get it. That light had used to be her one and only comfort before she met Yubin-unnie and Yoohyeon after all. She’d found joy on it. She’d found herself on it. It’d been the one and only thing she’d been really good at, too, and she used to think she was lucky enough to like what she was good at.</p><p> </p><p>Her finger twitched. Gahyeon had to squeeze her own hand to stop the trembling.</p><p> </p><p>It stopped. Or she wanted to think she had successfully obliged it to stop.</p><p> </p><p>But she couldn’t do anything to stop her fucking stupid brain.</p><p> </p><p>It remembered.</p><p> </p><p>Clearly, and precisely, the many ways she could use to crack Yubin-unnie’s password, so quickly and easily. How much time would it take her? Less than a minute? Or maybe a little bit more. A minute and a half, considering how long she hadn’t done that? Maybe not. Sadly, muscle memory wasn’t something should be underestimated.</p><p> </p><p>But that wasn’t the point.</p><p> </p><p>One minute.</p><p> </p><p>One minute away from getting back to what had defined who she was.</p><p> </p><p>Sixty fucking seconds away from getting to know why.</p><p> </p><p>And she couldn’t help but letting out another self-cursing chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>Hadn’t she vowed to never fucking do that again?</p><p> </p><p>After all what had happened, how could she still want to get back to <em>it</em>?</p><p> </p><p>Now, her whole body was shivering. In shame. In fear. And in regret.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Serve you right, you imbecile…</em>
</p><p>---------------------------------------------------</p><p>“She can WHAT?”</p><p> </p><p>“Compromise computer system, personal accounts, digital devices, or computer network, unauthorisedly.” Yubin looked at her phone screen. She must have searched the exact definition on the Internet seconds ago. “A more common definition of what I’ve just told you, hacking.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know what hacking means.” Handong glared at the short haired, still couldn’t hide her bewilderment. “But… how? Like… she’s only fifteen… Where did she…?”</p><p> </p><p>“She used to be a shut-in. Her parents don’t really care much about her or whatever she does. Typical rich family, I would say. Always busy with work.” Yubin continued in a quiet voice. “And she was too outstanding for her peers, too. She’s a misfit. She never fits in.” She briefly stopped with a head shake. “A rich misfit who’s too smart to fall for the traps of anyone wants to take advantages of either her wealth or kindness. And she’s also smart enough to not rely on her parents’ fortune, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“But she was lonely. She’s still a kid, after all. She wants to belong to somewhere. She needs love. She needs attention. She needs to be cared for. You think she was allowed to come here tonight? Nah. Her parents just don’t care. They never know where she is, or who she’s with. Present tense. I’m not even sure if they’re at their house right now. It’s a miracle that she can still keep her kindness, even though it got rougher through the years…”</p><p> </p><p>“So she found another hobby instead of going out, hanging with friends, living a life of a normal kid, which is…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hacking.”</p><p> </p><p>“Patient, Dongie. Computers and the Internet are the words I was looking for. It seems like she learnt the basic from all kind of books she could afford, and self-teaching, too. It fascinated her, and really, the kid is a genius. She could spend whole day and night on sitting in front of a computer, and learn how to communicate with it. You can’t imagine how skinny she was when we first met her, seriously…”</p><p> </p><p>She softly chuckled, and there was a faint smile on Yoohyeon’s face, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Then eventually, whatever will be will be. She found a group of hackers later on. It was unintentional, though. She thought it was a game. A challenging one, enough to kill some time while she was bored. It was hard, but she won. It turned out to be those hackers’ test to see who was qualified enough…”</p><p> </p><p>“She didn’t know they were hackers in the beginning. And they’re not so bad, ‘cause they didn’t do any harm to her even when they could. Just getting along well, and they gave her what she needed. In a way, you can say they cared for her, so she thought of them as friends or something like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Those hackers, on the other hand, were quite impressed with her ability, obviously, and some of them started to teach her more about that blue nowhere. Writing codes. Fixing bugs. Overwriting original codes. Securing her own personal data. Eliminating all of her traces on the Internet. Looking for potential security holes. And yes, it slowly led to accessing personal information without owners’ consent. The very first step of…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hacking.”</p><p> </p><p>Now came a nod.</p><p> </p><p>“At first, it was just bypassing her secondary school security system to sneak out of the dormitory to go to a DREAMCATCHER concert on her own without being noticed. But then, Gahyeon realised she could do much more than just that. She could see the test results even before they were uploaded. She could modify the test of any student if it was an online one, or manually change the results if it was an offline one. Either increased the grade of a poor schoolboy to get him a scholarship, or lowered the grade of those who were bullies to make them pay for what they’d done.”</p><p> </p><p>“But those were just the tip of the iceberg.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then she realised that… if she could hack into the school system, then maybe, she could do the same thing with people’s personal accounts, because sometimes, she didn’t even need to interfere, and the bullies’ grades were already bad enough. Low grades never worked as a punishment, I presumed. So she tried once. Her first attempt to actually hack into the bullies’ personal accounts.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did it work?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese received a <em>‘You think?’ </em>gaze.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh…” She shily muttered. “A stupid question, sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>But Yubin just waved her off. Then a long pause came, before she carefully spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“And if it was just that, then everything was ok, maybe… Sometimes, I wished it’d been really just that. She knew, but never used, or something like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“What she did next… wasn’t good. Her intention might be, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong didn’t realise that she was holding her own breath, waiting for whatever her friend might say next.</p><p> </p><p>Then Yubin raised her head and looked at her, eyes filled with the misery and a mixture of complicated emotions she couldn’t really pointed out which was which. A long gaze, before she spoke in an abnormal low voice.</p><p> </p><p>“She exposed all the bullies’ dirties and most humiliate secrets as revenge for their victims.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese froze to her spot.</p><p> </p><p>And she was speechless, too. She didn’t want to say anything at first, because she didn’t want to interrupt Yubin’s story, but now…</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t utter, even just one single word. And what was she supposed to say? She rarely got caught in surprise, but this?</p><p> </p><p>How was she supposed to react to… this?</p><p> </p><p>“What took her was only a few days or weeks sitting in front of her laptop or a school computer, collecting data, digging their entire lives up, creating portfolios, and bam. Bullies being isolated. Bullies being bullied, and there was nothing those secondary students could do to turn the table around. Serve them right. What goes around comes around, if you look at it positively…”</p><p> </p><p>A brief pause.</p><p> </p><p>“But negatively speaking… She literally ruined their very lives.”</p><p> </p><p>That… was an undeniable truth. My God… What the…</p><p> </p><p>“And do you know what’s more dangerous?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese reluctantly shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“She did it without any remorse.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a very long silence covering all three of them.</p><p> </p><p>Yubin and Yoohyeon was sinking deeply into their own thought, and so was Handong. What Gahyeon did was, undoubtedly, illegal. Some might argue that it was immoral, even, but… It was hard to define which was which. Had the girl been wrong? Had the girl been right? That was a stupid big fat question mark she doubted anyone could confirm their answer with confidence.</p><p> </p><p>And the Chinese was just one of those uncertain people, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t, and I still don’t judge her conducts. I know how she felt. It made her feel good. Like a vigilante. An anonymous hero in the dark. A dream come true for any kid wanting to be a good person. To be able to turn the world into a better place. To be something greater than herself. And even if it’s illegal, she had her own rules and principles. She never touched good people. She was also confident in her own skills, too. She thought she was good, at both heart and mind. She was different. She was proud of being different. And even though no one knew who she was, she was still the talk of the town.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin couldn’t help but letting out a lament sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“To someone’s always alone like her, that means a lot…”</p><p> </p><p>Sadly, that was undoubtedly true. Gahyeon was only a child, after all. She had a family, fine, but it wasn’t much different than not having one. She still received no love and care from someone should love and care for her, and that, to some extent, was even worse than having no one right from the beginning.</p><p> </p><p>A lonely child plus attention, all of a sudden? That was never a good combination, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“So that’s where she was. That’s where she truly felt she existed. She’d been alone for too long, I reckon, that she even forgot that her life should be here, in reality, not on that digital platform with data, numbers, codes, bugs, and holes…”</p><p> </p><p>Now, Handong kind of sensed how thing would turn out. Of course, it wouldn’t be good, but there was something…</p><p> </p><p>“Then yeah, it was natural, if you think about it. She had too much power in her hand. She could either save, or ruin someone’s lives. She had the ability to control the impossible. And she never got caught…”</p><p> </p><p>“Not exactly, though…” Yoohyeon suddenly intervened in a lower voice. “She did leave some traces behind for once…” Then she explained when meeting the Chinese questioning gaze. “That’s how we met in the first place. I figured out what she did…”</p><p> </p><p>“Based on the paper she used to print out all the details of that guy.” Yubin scratched her eyebrow. “So that doesn’t count. On the net, she was completely clean, and that’s not even my point here.”</p><p> </p><p>The tallest opened her mouth, but quickly closed it after realising she had nothing else to say but a “Fair enough.” shrug.</p><p> </p><p>Handong couldn’t help but cocking an eyebrow, half curious half interested. “Was that why she never used formality suffix with you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe…” The tallest gave out another nonchalant shrug. “But I don’t care anyway. I know she respects me, and that’s enough. She’s still a brat, of course, with tons of bad habits. She hates losing, and her ego is a little bit too big, and she has trust issues, but overall, she’s still tolerable. And she has a good heart, that’s what matters after all.”</p><p> </p><p>And the Chinese’s smile got broadened. She knew that was an understatement coming from her friend, that wasn’t hard to tell.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway.” Clearing her throat, Yubin raised her voice a little bit louder. “Back to where I was speaking, eventually, her confidence turned into arrogance. That was when she made the biggest mistake of her time being online.”</p><p> </p><p>There came a long pause, as if the short haired was trying to re-arrange or look for the correct word.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s this… girl.” She slowly started. “Gahyeon’s sunbae. We don’t really know the details. She said she met her once or twice on the hallway…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong slightly frowned. This… Why did this sound so familiar? Like she had heard this story somewhere else before…</p><p> </p><p>“They didn’t talk much…” The short haired let out a small sigh. “But I think she likes her. I’m not sure if she likes her as a friend, or she wanted them to be more than just friends. Maybe she’s not sure herself, to be honest. Anyway, Gahyeon was quite confused. She didn’t know how to deal with a real person and her complicated feeling. She’d been staying in her virtual world for too long, after all. I guess it was her first time wanting to approach someone, but she kept hesitating because…”</p><p> </p><p>“It was different from her usual self.” The Chinese completed for her, and received a nod. “And it was way too far from her comfort zone, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that…” Yubin poked her chopsticks at a piece of fried chicken, but she didn’t pick it up eventually. “And as I said, she was getting more arrogant. She didn’t feel like she should take the first step. She wanted to be approached, rather than approaching that girl. Even Yoohyeon and I, we were the one initially found her, and we wanted to be her friends before she did, so…”</p><p> </p><p>Now came a shrug, and Handong just nodded, totally understood.</p><p> </p><p>“But even if she didn’t want to talk to her, or ask her out, she still wanted to know more about that girl…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese hummed at first, but then, her eyes slowly got widened; an uneasy sense was inflated inside her chest when she thought of one worst case scenario. That familiar feeling when Yubin first mentioned the other girl… The way Gahyeon get cockier… The way she refused to live her life in reality…</p><p> </p><p>No… It couldn’t be…</p><p> </p><p>But Yubin, just by looking at her, already knew what she was thinking, and quickly confirmed it with a misery nod.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, you got it right…”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Holy sh…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“She decided to hack into the girl’s personal accounts by using a school computer. It wasn’t big, after all. She didn’t intend to expose anything. It was supposed to be harmless. She just wanted to get to know the girl more. And she’s good at eliminating her traces. She’s good at hiding. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a deep inhale, as if the short haired had to swallow down a stupid big lump to be able to continue.</p><p> </p><p>“But… that was the one and only time she made a terrible mistake…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese couldn’t move a muscle. She already figured what might happen next.</p><p> </p><p>“She forgot to log out of the girl’s Facebook account. Or so she thought. She wasn’t sure, but…” Leaving her story there, Yubin pressed her lips into a thin white line. “And the next day…”</p><p> </p><p>“Her life story got spread?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, not that.” She hesitantly shook her head. “Just rumours, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Rumours?” The Chinese squinted her eyes. “Of her being… gay?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired didn’t nod. But it wasn’t necessary anyway. Handong didn’t ask to confirm her thought, after all. If she connected all the dots, then the answer should be obvious by now.</p><p> </p><p>“That girl was the last one committing suicide here, wasn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>Neither Yubin nor Yoohyeon reacted, but again, their confirmation wasn’t that necessary. Now it all made sense. Their silent conversation whenever Yoohyeon wanted to have some kind of information. The way Gahyeon was so shaken up by the last suicide. The way she quickly changed the subject if it could turn into something related to computers and computer science, everything.</p><p> </p><p>The hell…</p><p> </p><p>Every piece now fell into their places.</p><p> </p><p>But… After knowing all of this, now what was she supposed to do?</p><p> </p><p>She’s thought exposing someone’s information was the peak already. Never, not even in her wildest dream, she would expect everything had turned into… this. Her head was somehow half spinning and half empty. That was a lot to take in in just, what, merely ten minutes?</p><p> </p><p>Hell of long ten minutes, for Christ’s sake…</p><p> </p><p>Handong didn’t know what else to say or do. Her ears were even buzzing, but maybe it was just because of the silence dropping among the three of them. And somehow, even when Yoohyeon broke the ice again, her word sounded distant, like it was coming from somewhere far, so far away.</p><p> </p><p>“After that, Gahyeon had vowed to never ever go back into hacking business.” The tallest despondently rubbed her face. “Which was good, to be honest. I told her to stop doing it numerous times. It could cause her a whole lot troubles, and she’s lucky I was the one found her out. So anyway, that was fine by me. And she started to hang out with us. Being friends with real people. Interacting with real people. She even gained weight. She eats more properly. It feels like she can truly live her life. But as you know now…”</p><p> </p><p>“She never stops blaming herself for what happened.” Yubin continued her friend’s word, a string of concern never actually left her eyes. “You can’t imagine how much she suffered after watching that video, and then…”</p><p> </p><p>Another moment of silence, a briefer one, before Yoohyeon decided to break it, again.</p><p> </p><p>“Realistically speaking, that wasn’t entirely her fault. There’s nothing to confirm that those rumours were coming from that personal Facebook account. If they really were, then isn’t it better to print everything out, then pin it on the announcement board? Why do they have to be rumours with no proofs? Besides, Gahyeon herself wasn’t sure if she really forgot to log out or not. For me, it’s even harder to believe she did forget. She’d never been so careless before, and trust me, it took me more a week to chase her down, not just a few hours or days or something like that. But…”</p><p> </p><p>“She never believes you.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl just nodded in frustration. Maybe helplessness, too. Handong could easily see she actually meant every word she said, and what she said did make sense. But again, there was this grey area of uncertainty, and to be honest, no one could actually confirm what exactly had happened. Was it her fault? Was it not her fault? Even if Yoohyeon’s deduction was reasonable, it was still unconvincing. It was mainly based on common sense, not facts, and definitely wasn’t something Gahyeon wanted to listen, not to mention to believe in it.</p><p> </p><p>The only thing mattered was that girl. And no matter whose fault that was, she had chosen death, permanently. The consequence was there, and no matter how much the youngest wanted to change, it would remain irreversible. Forever.</p><p> </p><p>“And it might sound harsh, but…” Yubin seemed a little hesitated, but after a deep inhale, she chose to speak anyway. “I don’t think it’s Gahyeon’s fault, even if those rumours did come from that Facebook account, though.”</p><p> </p><p>Now, that was something else. Unexpected, bold, and pretty cold from her, too. And it baffled the Chinese to the point that she couldn’t stop blinking at her friend in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>“I know what you’re thinking, but…” Her firm brown eyes were now locked with hers, completely unfaltering. “Do you really think someone would randomly jump out of the roof just because of <em>one</em> bad day? I know that was a terrible day for her, but even that, do you really think she would choose death if there’s something or someone else anchoring her here?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong couldn’t answer her question. Not because she didn’t know how, but… Damn how right her friend was. But also, it was damn hard to accept that fact as it was.</p><p> </p><p>Suicide was never a momentary decision. It often came after a long time struggling with the black dog, didn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>“I dare saying that, because after everything, Gahyeon’s still here, isn’t she?” Yubin quickly added after meeting Handong’s furrowing eyebrows. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying our maknae’s stronger than her or anything like that. I just think there’s one big difference between the two of them, and it has nothing to do with being either strong or weak, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Which is…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeon knows she still has us.” The short haired bluntly said, her finger pointed at herself and Yoohyeon, before continuing in a quieter voice. “But that girl… She must have felt like she had lost everything since a long, long time ago to come to that decision, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese pressed her lips. She couldn’t even count how many times she had been speechless in just one single evening. The only reassuring thing was that this time, her speechlessness wasn’t completely unpleasant, maybe.</p><p> </p><p>“If that girl has someone… Or if she could wait just a little longer for Gahyeon and us, then perhaps, she wouldn’t have chosen dying as an escape. At least that’s what I think.”</p><p> </p><p>Then that was it. No one said anything else. The three of them just let the air around fall into a suffocating silence. But what could they do, anyway?</p><p> </p><p>It was hard. Even thinking was hard. Too much information to be processed, and too many uncertainties to be handled properly.</p><p> </p><p>But then, there was something… made her think. And the more Handong thought about it, the more she couldn’t hold her question inside, to the point that she finally let it out, her voice was clearer and louder than usual, but maybe, it was just because of this abnormal silence between them.</p><p> </p><p>“Was that why you guys befriended with me in the first place?”</p><p> </p><p>Her question made Yoohyeon blink in confusion. Yubin, on the other hand, looked at her for a pretty long time, before…</p><p> </p><p>“You’re speaking like we’re some kind of saints or gods or something…” Pouting, the tall girl drily muttered, clearly didn’t intend to make it sound like a joke. “I can’t speak for Gahyeonie, because frankly, I don’t know, but for me…”</p><p> </p><p>She stopped for a brief moment, before wincing, her head was obviously full with unanswerable question marks.</p><p> </p><p>“I… don’t know either.” Dumbfoundedly, she scratched her lips. “How did we become friends again?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong blinked a few more time, not knowing what else to say. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to remind her that she had thrown a prop box into her head, but, well, the girl didn’t wait for her to say anything anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s not too important, so never mind. I can’t say for sure, but, I don’t know, it’s kind of… natural for me. Like that’s how things should be?” She glanced to her left. “… I think. Like, it’s obvious, and we don’t usually reason the obvious, right?” And… she started to talk faster. “What I’m trying to say is, we click, don’t we? I mean, it feels… right? To be together? Or I feel right. So yeah. It’s just… that. Really, I’m not sure what the heck I’m talking about if I just listen to what I’ve just said. Thing is, well…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo, stop, it’s fine.” Handong had to interrupt before her ranting got worse. “I get it.” She nodded; a weak smile tugged on the corner of her lips. “I get it… You don’t have to say anything else… I get it. I do feel the same, too, so don’t worry about it, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>Lucky her, Yoohyeon did stop as she asked although she still seemed confused, and wanted to think harder at her choice of word, but anyway. At least, it spared the Chinese from spending more efforts to calm the girl down. Tonight was a tough night, and she was exhausted just from listening already. Besides, she still needed to keep some energy left to…</p><p> </p><p>Yubin suddenly let out a small chuckle to her surprise. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t much. But it could temporary wipe this suffocated feeling away.</p><p> </p><p>Somehow… The girl was genuinely… happy.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” The Chinese frowned, but obviously, her frown was kind of off, because she was trying quite hard to suppress a grin. “What are you smiling at?”</p><p> </p><p>Still smiling, the short haired slightly shook her head. “You called her ‘Yoo’, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Now, it was impossible for Handong to hold her own smile back. Damn… This girl really was an observer. A different type of observer from Yoohyeon, but… When did she notice her old habit again? Oh well, she mentally shrugged. It didn’t really matter anyway…</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…” So she confirmed with a nod, totally aware of it. “I know I did…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin’s grin was wider, and the Chinese teasingly shoved her shoulder to a side. But she didn’t complain. She really was the type of person deciding every important thing in a flash, so of course, the short haired did have a reason to keep that smile on her face. A good reason, considering how much she cared for the young girl sitting alone in her bedroom upstairs.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t get it.” Looking at both of them, Yoohyeon’s eyebrows were knitted into a line. “What’s wrong with her calling me that?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll tell you when you’re older.” Handong winked at the pout on the taller’s face before standing up, slowly, but steadily. “Clean those plates for me, will you, Binnie?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, I’ll keep some for both of you.” Yubin lazily waved her off in response. “You have my permission and my bless.” She dramatically said. “Now go.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese let out a small giggle.</p><p> </p><p>Well… She headed toward the staircases.</p><p> </p><p>Time to make some good use of the energy she’d been saving up until now, so it seemed.</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>Or maybe this wasn’t the right time to use up her saved-up energy.</p><p> </p><p>To be honest, she might have been carried away by Yoohyeon’s overreactions, and sadly, only until now that she realised this cruel fact. When she was standing in front of Yubin’s bedroom door, couldn’t help but wondering.</p><p> </p><p>What should she say next? Or do next? Was Gahyeon even ready for this? Or was she too pushy for her at this moment? What would the little girl want now? Should she let her to have some more time to readjust herself? There were tons of questions running wildly in her head, and unfortunately, she had no idea what the answers were.</p><p> </p><p>There was almost nothing she could be sure of at this moment, so Handong just stupidly stood there, and thought, and wondered, and thought, and wondered.</p><p> </p><p>But after nearly half an hour (or so it felt), there was one question kept nagging around. Longest. Stubbornest. And maybe, was the only one she might have some clue. Vague, alright, but still counted.</p><p> </p><p>What if Gahyeon was waiting for her?</p><p> </p><p>Even if the Chinese’s answer might not be what she wanted, still, she must be waiting for one, right? There was no way the girl could sit still after permitting Yubin to tell her such a story, wasn’t there? Even if she could come to the point of self-convincing that Handong wouldn’t stay, which could highly be the case, she must have felt frustrated as hell.</p><p> </p><p>A confirmation, no matter how much it hurt, must be better than a vast uncertainty.</p><p> </p><p>So, swallowing all her hesitation down, Handong knocked on the wooden door, patiently waited.</p><p> </p><p>No answer. Just as she expected. And she didn’t really need the permission to turn the knob, and gave it a good push.</p><p> </p><p>The room wasn’t completely dark, thanks to the dim street light coming through the thin beige curtain loosely hung over Yubin’s room window. And the Chinese was quite grateful for it. If it hadn’t been there, she would have missed Gahyeon’s small figure being huddled into the corner of the room, easily. And her tensed shoulders. And her shakiness. And the way she slowly raised her head up. And the way she was looking at her. There was a hint of obvious fear on her face. It faded, fast, but not fast enough for Handong to miss.</p><p> </p><p>Right… As if she was scared to know the answer, but couldn’t resist her own desire to know what it was.</p><p> </p><p>And the Chinese couldn’t hold back a reassuring smile. Gahyeon’s blink was filled with surprise and disbelief, before turned into a confused frown, which didn’t really suit her beautiful face, at all.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s the matter?” Still smiling, Handong tried to tease her a little while steadily walking toward the huddled frame. “You’re not happy to see me?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger didn’t answer. Neither talked nor smiled, she just stared at her, obviously tried to gain some more clue to make her less confused, but of course, failed.</p><p> </p><p>Handong’s smile quickly faded. The air around them was densely cold, to the point that even Yubin’s cosy little corner couldn’t help much. Swallowing in a heavy sigh, she flung her head to the spot in front of the younger, gently asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I sit here?”</p><p> </p><p>A few seconds of considering passed, and Gahyeon nodded, almost jerkily. She still remained silent, but the Chinese didn’t blame her for that. So she just sat there, let the younger girl observe her, until she averted her eyes to anywhere else but Handong’s unfaltering gaze.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you thinking?”</p><p> </p><p>A moment of silence was her answer. But this moment was long, so long that it started to make her ears buzz. And true, she was a quick adaptor, but she didn’t think there would be anytime she could get used to her friend being abnormally quiet like this.</p><p> </p><p>Was she too pushy? Maybe Gahyeon wasn’t ready, just as she’d thought? Should she wait a little bit more?</p><p> </p><p>Handong didn’t know. But she didn’t intend to just sit here and aimlessly guess, either.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want me to…?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was thinking why you’re here. I was going to ask you that, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Cutting her off, the younger monotonously answered. Of course, the Chinese couldn’t miss the image of her palms squeezing her elbows a little too hard than necessary. Her self-mocking chuckle was even more observable, and she couldn’t help but noticing a small lump coming from nowhere suddenly filling up her chest, either.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, she said nothing. Her little girl hadn’t finished, and she wanted to listen as attentively as she could.</p><p> </p><p>“But then I realised that was a stupid question.” Resting her chin on her knees, Gahyeon scornfully smirked. “You’re here because you don’t wanna leave. And you don’t wanna leave because you’re being kind. I sorta hope that it’s not because you pity me after seeing how pathetic I am, but realistically, that might be the case?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese thought about it for a while. Her first instinct told her to deny what she’d just heard, but then, a second later… She couldn’t say anything. What could she say if she wasn’t too sure herself? What was she feeling right now? Was that really pity, or was it something different?</p><p> </p><p>But anyway, Gahyeon didn’t wait for her to figure it out. Tilting her head, she thoroughly scanned her on more time before asking.</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you gonna tell me that?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong blinked, totally lost. “Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you gonna tell me the same thing?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger repeated her question, her smile somehow became… weird. It was hard to explain, but she looked… tired. There was a hint of stubbornness flashing in her eyes too, but she didn’t quite understand why it was there. Or did she just confuse it with something else?</p><p> </p><p>“Like… it wasn’t my fault that she’s dead?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, that.</p><p> </p><p>Now Handong was sure. What she saw in Gahyeon’s eyes wasn’t stubbornness. Or wasn’t <em>just </em>stubbornness. There was a challenging in there as well. She was daring the Chinese to deny what she’d just said. Her face was beautiful. Her smile was beautiful. But Handong just squinted her eyes in distaste.</p><p> </p><p>The soullessness that shouldn’t be there, the soullessness that didn’t suit her childlike look, but couldn’t be confuse with anything else, stubbornly stuck in the bottom of Gahyeon’s shattered eyes.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t like it, and for God’s sake, ‘didn’t like’ was, literally, an understatement.</p><p> </p><p>“But well, that must be it.” The younger gave her a seemed-to-be nonchalant shrug. “Or else, why would you still be here?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong slightly scoffed. Sometimes, children having big brain, and knowing that they had big brain was annoying. But luckily, Gahyeon hadn’t reached the unbearable level. Not yet.</p><p> </p><p>And to be honest, the younger’s question was quite… troublesome. It would take lots of time to answer and explain for it, and although the Chinese wouldn’t mind, she still needed to know something before giving her friend the answer she didn’t really want to have.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I ask you one thing?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon seemed to be confused, but she still nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Are we that alike?”</p><p> </p><p>Surprise was written all over her face. Of course, this wasn’t the question she was expecting, Handong could easily see that. And the way she blinked, while carefully thinking before saying anything else, too. So it meant…</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t really know, to be honest…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese nodded, totally understood.</p><p> </p><p>“But now, since you ask…” After a few minutes of thinking, the younger finally said, eyebrows slightly furrowed. “In a way, maybe? Yeah… You guys are always alone, and it doesn’t look like you guys are bothered with it.” There was a faint smile tugged on the corner of her lips, too. “In fact, you guys are quite comfortable with being alone. But she was more obvious. She doesn’t…”</p><p> </p><p>Briefly stopping before inhaling, the girl fixed her own phrase, her smile completely faded.</p><p> </p><p>“… didn’t… want to get close to anyone… You seem to wanna blend in more than she did…”</p><p> </p><p>Then came a long pause.</p><p> </p><p>As long as Handong noticed Gahyeon’s fists had loosened up, she nodded, and continued.</p><p> </p><p>“Was that why you came to me in the first place?”</p><p> </p><p>That made the younger laughed. A curt one, yes, short, and annoying, too, but the Chinese didn’t miss it. That damn mixture of uncertainty, self-mocking, and self-blaming. All contained in that irritating huff.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know.” Gahyeon shook her head with a scornful smile. “You think I came to you because you remind me of her?”</p><p> </p><p>Oops, that was unexpected. Obviously, Handong didn’t ask about that aspect in particular, but now, if she thought more carefully, the way she’d phrased it was kind of… easy to be misunderstood.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not what you think, although now I sound like I’m just making excuses, but no, that’s not what I think.”</p><p> </p><p>Of course, Gahyeon’s squinted eyes were full of suspicion. What she’d just said wasn’t a good example of being convincing, but…</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think I’m like anyone, though.” Gently saying with a smile, the Chinese let the younger freely find a lie that didn’t exist in her eyes, face, and body, before playfully winking. “Don’t you think I’m a little bit too attractive if I’m not toning me down?”</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t time to tease, but at least, the younger’s expression had loosened up. Slightly, but still counted.</p><p> </p><p>And Handong’s teasing face quickly changed, too.</p><p> </p><p>“There can’t be anyone like me, and there can’t be anyone like her.” Slightly shaking her head, she turned toward the younger girl, patiently waited for her to return her gaze, then continued. “No matter how similar we are, I can’t replace her place in your heart, Gahyeon-ah. I know that, and with that big brain of yours, I know you know that, too, so that’s not what I wanted to say earlier, about you wanting to be friends with me…”</p><p> </p><p>This time, the younger girl remained silent. But the Chinese didn’t let it last for too long.</p><p> </p><p>“But I do think you don’t wanna regret for <em>not</em> doing something again.” Raising an eyebrow, she gently smiled. “Getting to me first, maybe?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, so we’re back to it again.” Despondently breaking the eye-contact, Gahyeon let out another scoff. “It’s time for you to say ‘It’s not your fault, Gahyeon-ah.’, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was raspy and exhausted. As if she was tired of hearing the same thing again and again and again, just like a broken record. And her palms, which were loosened up not so long ago, now started to squeezed her knees, hard, again.</p><p> </p><p>Handong pressed her own lips. Should she say it? Should she not say it? If it was a gamble, then it was a damn big gamble, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>Then after somewhat felt like a whole ten minutes, she deeply inhaled. Should or shouldn’t, she would just go with whatever running in her overloaded mind.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon, after being so genuine and honest to her, deserved to hear the truth.</p><p> </p><p>“What if I tell you that it’s not what I’m thinking?”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was quiet. Whatever she was going to say was harsh enough to hurt her, for sure. It might hurt to the point of breaking her down for good, but…</p><p> </p><p>“What if I tell you that I do think it <em>was your</em> fault?”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t dare looking at the younger’s expression. She might not be able to finish if she did look at her.</p><p> </p><p>“I agree. We can’t know exactly what happened. We can’t know exactly what made her jump out of that roof. But no matter what, it was your fault for hacking into her personal account right from the start. It’s the fact that no one can deny, and I won’t sugar-coat your fault for your sake or for anyone’s sake, Gahyeon-ah.”</p><p> </p><p>That was the longest silence Handong had to endure tonight. It was suffocated. It made her edgy like hell with her own uncertainty and million questions running in her head. But she said nothing. The only thing she could do now was turning her head toward the younger girl, and bravely faced the consequence of her harshness: Gahyeon’s pain.</p><p> </p><p>But is was easier than she thought it would be. Sure, there was a string of pain in her clear brown eyes, but the surprise and disbelief were overwhelming, to the point that the younger couldn’t help but stuttering.</p><p> </p><p>“But then… why?” Swallowing down, she unbelievingly blinked. “Why are you still here? You know it’s my fault… You think it’s my fault, then why?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s question stunned her. She didn’t thoroughly think about it. Sure, her fault was a serious one. No one knew for sure, but still, it might have affected other person’s life, and yes, even though it was unintentional, it could, and should make her want to leave.</p><p> </p><p>But that thought never came to Handong. Even until now, it still hadn’t.</p><p> </p><p>Why was that?</p><p> </p><p>There were millions of reasons she could have use. Because Gahyeon had helped her so much. Because Gahyeon was being nice to her. Because Gahyeon was good, and actually, not as bad as she thought of herself, et cetera, et cetera.</p><p> </p><p>Lots of logical reasons, but something felt off.</p><p> </p><p>Except for one. One thing she could be sure of. The only one thing that she knew, it was nothing but the naked truth.</p><p> </p><p>“Because…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong couldn’t notice how soft her eyes had turned into.</p><p> </p><p>“Even until now, I’ve never been gladder, and grateful, even, that I’ve met you, Gahyeonie-ah.”</p><p> </p><p>Now, it was the younger’s turn to be stunned in disbelief. The scene was pretty comical, and if it wasn’t because she was being as serious as she could, the Chinese could have laughed at her face already.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not very good at expressing myself. I like to observe people, all the time, and just stay silent like I first met you, Yubin, and Yoohyeon. I avoid conflicts. I try to keep my opinions to myself only. I try to keep my circle as small as possible, but sometimes, I guess I do feel a little… lonely?”</p><p> </p><p>The more she talked about it, the more it felt like she was talking to herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Like… there’s no connection, and there’s nothing anchoring me anywhere? Nowhere to be belonged, and just… aimless? To be honest, I’ve never known of how it was like. Being attached to someone, I mean…”</p><p> </p><p>There was a hint of lament flashing through Gahyeon’s face when she shifted. The move was so subtle that Handong thought she’d imagined it. But it was there. As if the girl wanted to hold her hand and sent her some comfort, but then stopped herself from doing it for some reasons.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, don’t be like that.” The Chinese let out a small laugh. “I don’t think I was sad. I was fine with it, or otherwise, I would have done something about it, right?”</p><p> </p><p>But her laugh didn’t last long. It died before she quietly admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“But I definitely wasn’t happy, either.”</p><p> </p><p>Reaching for Gahyeon’s cold hands, Handong ignored the younger’s weak efforts of moving her hands away.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t recall if there ever was any time I’m truly happy. Maybe you’ve noticed, I’m not usually into skinship. I’m not really close to anybody. And I’m not very good at telling people how I feel without thinking too much, to the point that it feels… weird to tell them afterwards…”</p><p> </p><p>Stubbornly holding the hands in hers, the Chinese gently rubbed them, tried her best to warm them up, even just a little.</p><p> </p><p>“So… To think that there will be a day when I can hold your hand like this, or let you and Yubin hug me, or hug you guys back, or speak whatever I think out loud, and actually feel <em>good</em> about it… It’s unbelievable. But in a way, it’s also… amazing, I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t hold back a smile. Yeah… It was really amazing, if she could be totally honest.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe one day, when I have to get back to a life without the three of you, or four, Minji-unnie counts, too, if she and Yoohyeon could deal with their own mess, I’ll still be able to pull through. I can adjust myself. But it won’t be easy as it used to be. I think I could move to everywhere before coming here because I wasn’t really attached to anyone. But now…”</p><p> </p><p>The girl’s lips slightly quivered.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s hard for me to leave Yubin, Yoohyeon, Minji-unnie, and you, Gahyeonie-ah.”</p><p> </p><p>But Handong hadn’t finished.</p><p> </p><p>“So it might be just me, but if what you’ve been suffering from was actually why I got to meet you guys… Then personally, I’m grateful for it, even though I know I shouldn’t have been.”</p><p> </p><p>Not yet.</p><p> </p><p>“And… I might not be the one who should say this, ‘cause I don’t really know how you’d been through those two days. The day she was bullied, and the day she chose to commit suicide, I mean, but…</p><p> </p><p>There was one last thing. The most important thing she wanted Gahyeon to know.</p><p> </p><p>“Seeing you right here, right now… Makes me think…”</p><p> </p><p>Or no, not just wanted. She <em>needed</em> her to know.</p><p> </p><p>So holding her shoulders firmly, Handong looked straight into her teary eyes, those tired eyes containing her unspoken regret, remorse, and sorrow, for so long that she might be on the verge of being broken under the weight of guilt, and asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Haven’t you blamed yourself enough?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything but shaking her head. A sign of denial, but Handong didn’t blame her. She understood. It’d only been more than four months. To her, Gahyeon’s remorse might be enough, but to the girl…</p><p> </p><p>Asking her to move on after this was, indeed, harsh.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“If it hasn’t, then when will it be?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon didn’t answer. Maybe, again, she couldn’t. She didn’t really know, and Handong truly got it. The consequence was unfixable. There was nothing anyone could do to change anything at this moment. So… As simple as it sounded…</p><p> </p><p>It was enough only when the girl decided that it was enough, no matter how long that girl had been dead for.</p><p> </p><p>“Why did you choose to continue, Gahyeon?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger looked at her, a string of confusion flashed through the thick curtain of unshed tears. She must be thinking very hard to be able to answer. But all she could come up with was…</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know…”</p><p> </p><p>Biting her own lips, she weakly shook her head, her voice was weak, and lamentedly hoarse. It was obvious now. The girl wanted to back down. She wanted to avoid this cruel topic. And maybe, at this moment, she could have exchanged anything for Handong to shut up.</p><p> </p><p>But the Chinese refused to back down. The mistreated wounds must be torn apart and re-washed properly to be able to heal in peace.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t give me that, you obviously do.” Ignoring the lament feeling swirling in her chest, she continued to push. “So why? Why did you choose to live?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know…”</p><p> </p><p>She repeated, raised her voice a little bit louder. It was almost at her control limit, but Handong didn’t stop.</p><p> </p><p>“Not because of Yoohyeon and Yubin.” Shaking her head, the Chinese confirmed, her hands now cupped the younger’s cheeks, didn’t allow her to look at anywhere else but her eyes. “You can’t fool me with all those excuses you’re thinking of. You want to live as a punishment for what you’ve done. But you also want to live for her, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon neither nodded nor shook her head. But to be honest, Handong didn’t need her to. She didn’t ask, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“But if that’s the case… Don’t you think both you and she deserve to live a life with no regret?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger remained silent for a few minutes. A few suffocating minutes, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Deserve? No regret?” She blankly repeated, then let out a mocking scoff. “How the fuck can I know? For her, maybe, but for me? ME? How am I supposed to know all of that shit? When is enough? I don’t know. How much is enough? I don’t fucking know. You keep asking me why. You keep asking me when, but…”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese didn’t say anything. She just watched her friend huffing in disbelief. She watched how her storm of emotion slowly building up inside her, to the point that it was too much to hold it in, and…</p><p> </p><p>“I DON’T FUCKING KNOW!”</p><p> </p><p>Standing up, Gahyeon finally snapped.</p><p> </p><p>“All of this is what I fucking deserve! What the fuck is enough? How could it be enough? I don’t know! All I know is that I killed someone I like because I was too stupid and arrogant. A life! A human’s life! Lost, because of my own stupidity! And there was no fucking one allow me to even apologise for that. ‘It’s not your fault.’, not my fault…”</p><p> </p><p>She suddenly stuttered, as if she was trying her best to just swallow a huge lump appearing in her throat, but just miserably failed.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t apologise when it’s not my fault, can I? And I haven’t apologised to her… I can’t fucking believe I haven’t even done that… I can’t even come to her grave to say that I’m sorry…” Shaking her head in disbelief, she looked at Handong, eyes filled with anger, before raising her voice one more time. “How can you call that enough? How can you call that deserve to be happy? I don’t fucking deserve it! She does, she always does, and I know that, but I also know that I.DON’T!”</p><p> </p><p>It was a throaty yell. A yell full of remorse, regret, anger, and tons of other emotions Handong couldn’t figure out what they exactly were. But it didn’t matter. Handong’s palms started to hurt because of her balling her fists too tight, but it mattered even less.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t… I don’t deserve it…”</p><p> </p><p>Especially when Gahyeon fell down to the ground on her knees. And she might actually hurt herself, if the Chinese wasn’t quick enough to catch her in time.</p><p> </p><p>The younger couldn’t even stand up on her own. Handong felt like she was supporting a broken stringed marionette. The snapping had obviously drained every single ounce of energy in her small body, and clearly, she couldn’t take it anymore. Anger had left. Helplessness had invaded her heart. Guiltiness was slowly killing her inside.</p><p> </p><p>“I couldn’t… I couldn’t…”</p><p> </p><p>Weeping, she quietly muttered, her voice was muffled when Handong pulled her in for a tight hug. Her body was trembling, but despite the lament in her chest, the Chinese’s tensed shoulders had finally loosened up.</p><p> </p><p>At least, now, she was able to feel the heat coming from Gahyeon’s tears. All those tears the girl had been trying so hard to hold back. All the thought of not deserving to either have or do anything… No matter it was just crying or living, eventually, was here.</p><p> </p><p>“Dong-unnie… I couldn’t even ask for her forgiveness, can you believe that?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong remained silent, but her hand kept caressing the girl’s back, encouraging her to keep talking.</p><p> </p><p>“I couldn’t even say I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>Trembling turned into shivering; she nudged her head into the Chinese’s shoulder more deeply.</p><p> </p><p>“I want to tell her that so bad, Dong-unnie… I want to tell her that so fucking bad…”</p><p> </p><p>The hand squeezing the hem of her shirt was getting stronger.</p><p> </p><p>“But I can’t… No matter how much I want to, I can’t talk to her anymore…” The girl shook her head with a jerky movement. “I can’t hear her voice… I can’t see her smile… I can’t see her face… I can’t meet her again… I wanted to do so many things for her, with her, but I can’t…”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s voice was now filled with nothing but helplessness.</p><p> </p><p>“I… I haven’t told her how much I like her singing… I haven’t even told her I wanna befriend with her so much… There’re so many things I still haven’t had a chance to tell her, Dong-unnie, and yet, I…”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was choked. Her tears seemed to be uncontrollable. She seemed to be unable to keep speaking, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Just keep it up, Gahyeonie.”</p><p> </p><p>Tightening her embrace, Handong gently stroked her back. Gahyeon needed to let them go. The weight of memory. The weight of guilt. The weight of unspoken thoughts. The weight of fear of not being allowed to say anything. She must let them go.</p><p> </p><p>“Keep talking…”</p><p> </p><p>And if the girl couldn’t bare them on her shoulders, then Handong would send her all the support she could give, shoulder by shoulder, carry all of them with her.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not unheard.” Carefully caressing Gahyeon’s hair, the Chinese gently promised. “I heard you. I hear you. Let it out. It’s ok…”</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, the younger’s sob was the only sound existed.</p><p> </p><p>Then…</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry…” She desperately mumbled through Handong’s shirt. “I’m so, so sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>The suppressed apology was finally released.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t spoken to Handong, but it was fine.</p><p> </p><p>If Gahyeon’s sunbae was kind… If she was someone Gahyeon liked so much… Then she wouldn’t mind forgiving her, would she?</p><p> </p><p>There was no answer. There was no confirming. She’d never even met the girl in particular. But Handong’d never been surer about it.</p><p> </p><p>So yeah…</p><p> </p><p>She would gladly accept the apology coming from the deepest corner of Gahyeon’s heart. On behalf of…</p><p> </p><p>“Siyeon-sunbaenim…”</p><p> </p><p>The name was pronounced in the gentlest way she had ever heard.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m really, really sorry…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... yeah... </p><p>There're quite a lot of things I wanna say about this chapter, but well... I'm not too sure what should I say to be honest. But there's one thing I've been wanting to, so here it is:</p><p>To all people struggling with your mistakes and faults in the past: It's ok. Everybody makes mistakes. Even if the consequences were unfixable, it's time to forgive yourself and move on. You all deserve to live in peace. You all deserve to live a happy life. I'm sending you all a virtual hug, not much, but thank you for choosing to continue with this tough life &gt;:D&lt; </p><p>P.S: I think I left a lots of... references of Singnie's debut ;)) Of course, it's not really relevant to the plot, but... Well, I did have fun inserting those small things into my fic &gt;:) Maybe I'll reveal everything once I finish this fic, or do you want me to talk about it in the next chapter? </p><p>I'd love to hear your thoughts, folks~ Let me know what you think, too :"&gt;</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. "Her name... is Kim Bora."</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Who was Kim Bora?</p><p>One more step to partly answer the big question.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Right, so, first of all... Thank you all so so so so much for your comments! I mean, I almost screamed out loud when I read that much comments and supports for 1 chapter only, and I can't really find any word to describe how happy and grateful I am for that, even until now. So, a big, huge, enormous thank you for your support, that really motivates me to write this chapter, and I've never doubted that I would be able to end this fic in the most satisfying way to thank you for your support. </p><p>So... No more rantings, and folk, I hope you're ready to get to know who Kim Bora was ;)) Enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Handong went up to Yubin’s room, the kitchen fell back to its silence, for the nth time in just one night. But the short haired didn’t feel anything off. She was still worried, of course, for God knew how things might turn into. It was quite a gamble, for sure. Her Chinese friend might not be able to heal Gahyeon’s deep wound, but maybe, she could. No one could know for now, so…</p><p> </p><p>All she could do in the meantime was waiting, and hoping for the best.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes, like it or not, she had to put her faith into someone else’s hand, as cliché as it sounded.</p><p> </p><p>“That girl…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s abnormally monotonous voice made Yubin frown a little.</p><p> </p><p>“She died on a Full Moon, too, didn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired didn’t answer immediately. To be honest, she didn’t want to continue with this topic. Tonight was an exhausted night. If it wasn’t because of Gahyeon still occupying her bedroom, maybe, she would have gone straight to bed hours ago already.</p><p> </p><p>“You know who I’m talking about, or if you don’t, I can spare you from lying by telling you straight away, now.” Her friend calmly shut her not-so-obvious attempt to play dumb. “The infamous rebel and loner, Lee Siyeon. Or else, what could make our Gahyeonie react like that? I’m stupid, alright, but I do know she’s a lot tougher than this. She’s been through more than just hearing those two words, so don’t tell me it’s nothing.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin let out a small sigh. Sometimes, when Yoohyeon got more serious like she was now, there was nothing she could say to object or deny her request in any form. There was no room for it. And the demand in her abnormal sharp eyes was too strong to be ignored.</p><p> </p><p>So she nodded without saying anything.</p><p> </p><p>Almost five months had passed… And it still seemed like only yesterday.</p><p> </p><p>Yubin hadn’t witnessed the scene. Not completely. It’d been a glimpse only, but it was more than enough to deeply carve that image into her stubborn mind. How the girl’s dried blood had dyed her wrinkled uniform in a shade of copper red. How the colour had blended into her raven shade hair. How the once sticky and lively liquid glued them all together into messy and dishevelled locks. How her coldly pale skin contrasted with that coppery red shade coming from the opened wound cracking her head apart. And how her complexion had turned into a mere background highlighting the colour of her bruises and dried blood.</p><p> </p><p>Behind the curious crowd. Behind the yellow tapes. Being embraced by nothing but the cold camera lenses aimed at her unmoving body, Lee Siyeon had been lying there, on the ground, witnessing the sunset, bathing in the moonlight, and welcoming the morning sunshine with a lifeless pair of orbs.</p><p> </p><p>But it had been the story of the next incoming morning.</p><p> </p><p>Just a few hours after the night with one of the most beautiful Full moon Yubin’d ever observed.</p><p> </p><p>The short haired hadn’t had either courage or curiosity to look straight into those opened eyes of the dead. Besides, she had neither time nor mind to care about what she’d been looking at.</p><p> </p><p>A broken Gahyeon was more important than the death of some random girl she barely knew, that was what she’d been telling herself, even until now. Just to suppress a pang of guilt when seeing the girl in that cruelly aesthetical state. The rational part of her brain knew that it wasn’t her fault, but sometimes, Yubin couldn’t help but thinking…</p><p> </p><p>Her death, and the others’, too… Were those really unavoidable, like those excuses she’d been using to convince herself, so she could turn her back to them without feeling bad about it?</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t be sure. Even until now, she still couldn’t. She was one of those ignorant people, no, sinners, according to Minji-unnie’s definition of the word, no doubts, but…</p><p> </p><p>Saving everyone was just a pipe dream. Nothing more, nothing less. There were people that were more important to her, and losing them would hurt her more than watching some other people suffering from their own problems, it was just as simple as that.</p><p> </p><p>Or so she’d been told.</p><p> </p><p>Or so she kept reminding herself, again and again and again. Remembering that disappearing back, so that she would never repeat the same mistake ever again.</p><p> </p><p>“Aish, I can’t find it.” The sound of Yoohyeon clicking her tongue in irritation brought the short haired back to the ground. “Hey Binnie, did they delete all those vids?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired tilted her head. “You mean the one with her being bullied?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course.” The tall girl nodded; eyes widened; eyebrows were knitted into a straight line. “I thought there might be someone reposting it, I still remembered seeing it somewhere on Twitter or Facebook when it blasted the whole school forum, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s all gone.” Keeping her relief inside, she gently shook her head. Lucky her, Yoohyeon, sometimes, was seriously clueless about how things worked. “One of the clearest evidences can trigger a huge scandal, there’s no way it can still float here and there. Don’t forget they just want to bury <em>everything </em>for good, and by saying everything, I mean…”</p><p> </p><p>“Everything. Got it.” Despondently, her friend nodded, but her eyes still stuck to the phone screen. “But damn… Now I can finally have some leads, and yet…”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you wanna have a look at her social medias first?” Yubin asked, purely because of curiosity. “There might be lots of things there…”</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me, I’m doing it right now.” Biting her lips, Yoohyeon slowly announced with a really slow headshake, before throwing the phone down to the table. “And I really hope Chanmi’s death and her death don’t have any connections, ‘cause guess what? I finished scrolling through her newsfeed in like, what, ten secs or something? She didn’t post <em>anything</em>, and by saying anything, I mean…”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything, alright.” The short haired threw her a deathly glare. “Stop imitating me, it’s annoying.”</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t that the point?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s wink was indeed, irritating, but Yubin just let her do whatever she wanted to. She wouldn’t be able to tease her a lot, and it showed. It didn’t take more than five seconds for her wink to vanish, and the short haired couldn’t do anything but sighing in sympathy.</p><p> </p><p>It would be easy if Lee Siyeon’d been some kind of ulzzang posting their whole life schedule on the Internet now and then, but…</p><p> </p><p>That girl was nowhere near it.</p><p> </p><p>Despite having an unreal pretty face, and in a way, Yubin could agree that she’d been quite famous, too. For being expelled from her previous school, but somehow, still passing the hard as hell entrance test at Jung Dok High. For skipping classes and studying nothing. For having the lowest grade in the school record since forever. For smoking on the rooftop. For violating most of the school rules. For being a weird bitch. And for being gay.</p><p> </p><p>Lee Siyeon’s reputation had been anything but good, and nothing changed even after she’d died. To be honest, Yubin didn’t care much. Or, to be more precise, she couldn’t. She didn’t know how many of them were true, and she hadn’t come to her when the girl’d been alive, so nothing mattered. But anyway.</p><p> </p><p>She did know one thing.</p><p> </p><p>Lee Siyeon’s classroom was next to Yubin’s, and the short haired had never seen her being with anybody else but herself. Always being cold and distant with that unique fierce stare, it wasn’t hard to understand that not so many people would want to be close to her. She hadn’t been friendly. She hadn’t been cheerful. A typical troublemaker. The lone vibe around her hadn’t given anyone a sense of relax.</p><p> </p><p>She was a loner. A loner who never exposed anything about herself, both in real life and on the Internet. But…</p><p> </p><p>“Posts for friends only? Or there might be something in her Facebook Messenger inbox?” Arching an eyebrow, Yubin suggested. “Because if she didn’t post anything…”</p><p> </p><p>“Then Gahyeon wouldn’t be like this.” Her friend immediately finished her incomplete thought. “Yeah, I figured, but…”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t say anything else, and Yubin already understood. If that was the case, and the girl had already passed away, then… No more friend requests would be accepted. For now, only Gahyeon could help them know more about her life back then.</p><p> </p><p>Or actually…</p><p> </p><p>“Did you look up her friend list?”</p><p> </p><p>“…”</p><p> </p><p>“…”</p><p> </p><p>That was a battle between an opened mouth and a pair of eyes versus an arched eyebrow, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Shit, I didn’t.” Cursing under her breath, Yoohyeon picked up the phone to have another look, and almost dropped the device to the ground when it nearly slipped through her slender fingers. “No no no, stay with mommy. That’s it.” Then, she turned toward her with a tilted head. “You have a point. Why didn’t I think of that before? How can I completely forget it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you suck at anything relating to human in general?” Yubin nonchalantly shrugged, earned a small shove in the shoulder to herself, and looked into her friend’s phone screen through her shoulder. “Now, let’s hope she didn’t hide it from the world, too…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, guess what?” Slowly nodding her head, the tall girl snapped her finger, before scrolling down for more content. “Yes, baby, she didn’t. There’re twenty-f… What?” Then blinked in disbelief before shaking it off a second later. “Right, she’s even more reserved than I am, ok… Good thing is, twenty-five friends? This shouldn’t be lo… Oh come on…” Groaning, she looked at the white screen with absolutely no content at all, then whined at her. “Really? Your Wi-fi sucks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Or it’s time for your phone to be sent to some kind of antique museum.” Yubin drily retorted before wincing, too lazy to reach for her own phone at the other end of the dining table. “Seriously. How can you drop it <em>that </em>much? It’s a miracle that it can still function until now…”</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me, I’ve been asking myself the same thing since the first day I got this baby in hand. Oh, now it works.” Her index finger started to crazily swipe down, so fast that the short haired couldn’t really catch up with whatever displayed on her cracked phone screen. “And no, I’m not gonna ask Taeyeon-unnie to buy me a new one. But really, check your connection, it’s terri…”</p><p> </p><p>“Stop!”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s ranting and finger stopped, but it wasn’t entirely because of Yubin telling her to. Her goofy face turned stern, her eyes widely opened, and obviously, her mind had drifted back to her own thought, and processed what she was looking at. Which meant the short haired wasn’t the only one seeing it.</p><p> </p><p>And when her friend stopped, finger swiped the screen back up, she could finally be sure that both of them were noticing the exact same thing.</p><p> </p><p>The profile picture of an ahjuma and a small boy, probably was the woman’s son, being blurred because her friend was scrolling down too fast. And it was old, too. Must be taken since a really long time ago. An old black and white photo, and it was hard to confirm even when Yoohyeon’d stopped swiping to have a better look. The account name, Lee Minsu, wasn’t even familiar to either of them, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey…” Squinting her eyes, the tall girl uncertainly asked. “Does this kid look familiar to you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes…” She vaguely answered. “Yes… he… does…”</p><p> </p><p>Without a single notice, Yoohyeon immediately click on the account, hopefully to get a better picture of this guy’s face, and preferably not taken when he’d been a child. He was so familiar. Those eyes… That nose… That mouth shape… Where did she…?</p><p> </p><p>But they didn’t have to stay in vague for too long. Besides the profile picture, this Lee Minsu-ahjuma did upload almost every important event of her life on this social media platform. Her family included. And it wasn’t just the small family she had with a husband and a son, but the one big family in one of the rare union time in the year, too.</p><p> </p><p>The latest family photo had been taken in last year’s Chuseok, which wasn’t too far away, and…</p><p> </p><p>“Holy shit…” Yoohyeon constantly blinked. “For real?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin could totally understand why her friend react like that. If it wasn’t because of this photo, maybe she would never have noticed. They were never close. She doubted there would be anyone seeing them being together, even. But now, if she gave it some more thoughts…</p><p> </p><p>Right… Lee Siyeon, who had been standing in the furthest left corner of the photo, and the guy standing in the right corner, were indeed, alike. Especially their appearance. They didn’t share the same face shape, but the eyes, the nose, and their lips…</p><p> </p><p>“Park Seonghwa?” Her friend rubbed her eyes one more time. “Lee Siyeon is Park Seonghwa’s cousin?”</p><p> </p><p>Well… At least this was the question Yubin could answer with a hundred percent confidence after reading a few more comments, tags, and photos on Lee Sumin’s Facebook wall. But she didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to, anyway, but…</p><p> </p><p>How ironic…</p><p> </p><p>The girl who was supposed to have none, turned out to be having one connection. A quite close one, even, but was covered so well that no one had ever noticed.</p><p> </p><p>That, no doubt, was a gold mine of information they could dig a little deeper into. A gold mine Yubin wasn’t really keen on digging, but of course, her friend wouldn’t share this opinion with her this time.</p><p> </p><p>And it showed, when Yoohyeon couldn’t help but scoffing in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>“Well…” Locking her eyes with her, the tall girl blinked, before rubbing her face. “I guess it’s worth paying Park Seonghwa a little visit, isn’t it?”</p><p>----------------------------------------------------</p><p>That visit only came in about two weeks later, and no, Yubin had absolutely no complaints about it.</p><p> </p><p>The theatre club was crazily busy with their study and practice schedule, and with the incoming mid-term exam, which occurred shortly after the Spring Festival, even Yubin, Gahyeon, Handong and Yoohyeon were too busy to care about anything else but their own study and homework. Besides, Gahyeon hadn’t fully returned to her normal self. She was getting closer and closer to Handong, which was good, and she still dissed Yoohyeon as she normally did, but…</p><p> </p><p>Yubin still saw it. The hint of regret and sorrow, which would occasionally appear from the bottom of her clear brown eyes. And sometimes, the girl would fall into an abnormal quietness. It hadn’t been there for a long time, and she did wanna ask her little girl about it, but stopped when meeting Handong’s slight headshake.</p><p> </p><p><em>‘Let her be.’ </em>It said. <em>‘That’s what she’s needing right now.’</em></p><p> </p><p>The short haired’s eyebrows furrowed. The scene was familiar, except Handong’s and her position had been exchanged. Or maybe, what goes around does come around, after all?</p><p> </p><p>But again, there was something reliable in the way the Chinese nodded at her. An unspoken reassurance, and for some reasons, her mind started to stop asking why, and both her rational and sentimental parts of her brain just put faith into Handong’s hand without any further understanding of the whole situation.</p><p> </p><p>That was strange.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe… She did change.</p><p> </p><p>Nodding at the Chinese to imply that she had understood, she suppressed a slight sigh. At this point, her change didn’t really matter. At least, it wasn’t as important as her youngest friend.</p><p> </p><p>It was obvious that Gahyeon was still far from fully recovered, so as an unspoken agreement, both Yubin and Yoohyeon were sharing the same decision: It was better for the youngest to stay out of anything relating to Lee Siyeon at this moment, but of course, she could get back to it whenever she was ready. Lucky for them, the girl had Handong staying with her, and she was busy, too, so it wasn’t a big deal to meet Park Seonghwa without her noticing.</p><p> </p><p>Now, the only thing she should be caring about was…</p><p> </p><p>“Are you Lee Siyeon’s cousin?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin almost rolled her eyes. But she couldn’t hold back her blinking at her tall BFF. Seriously, was it really necessary for her to be <em>this</em> straightforward? At least, greeting the guy first before randomly asking people something <em>that </em>out of the blue? Because now, Park Seonghwa, and in this case, Yubin, too, were stunned with her sudden and straight to the point question already.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry…” Scratching her nape, Yoohyeon shily mumbled. “I didn’t mean to be that impolite…”</p><p> </p><p>“But you were.” Leaving the surprise behind, Park Seonghwa continued to hang his costume on the hanger, before drily shrugging. “And to be honest, I don’t expect anything more from you. But why do I have to answer that question of yours anyway? Why asking about her now?”</p><p> </p><p>His eyes were aiming straight at Yubin when asking the last question.</p><p> </p><p>Damn.</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence, when both Yubin and the tall girl didn’t really know what to say. Right. They weren’t the police, and obviously, the topic with the ‘Lee Siyeon’ tag wasn’t easy for everyone to openly talk about. Why on Earth would this guy be generous and answer all of their question about someone passing away for quite a while?</p><p> </p><p>“Uhm… I don’t know?” Yoohyeon let out a stupidly nervous laugh before turning to Yubin. “Why should our Seonghwa-nim answer that question again?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired threw a death glare, which had effectively shut her up, but at the same time, she was asking herself the exact same question. Seonghwa’s expression was neutral, which only made it more difficult for her to assume how his relationship with Lee Siyeon had been. From her own experience, relatives could be either a precious childhood friend, or the un-get-rid-able pain in the ass, and unfortunately, how close he was with the girl, and how she phrased her words next could either help them in finding out the truth, or burying it down for good.</p><p> </p><p>Should she tell him the truth, or try to lie to him now?</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa’s eyes were examining her. He waited, but his patience was getting shorter in every minute passing by.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re trying to figure out who killed Chanmi-nim.” Yubin finally chose to speak the truth. “And maybe, it has something to do with your cousin’s death, if she really i… was your cousin, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>His facial expression immediately turned cold. There was an undeniable disgust lying underneath his icy gaze, and the short haired could easily see, the only reason he was still standing in front of them was purely because he was curious.</p><p> </p><p>She just had no idea of what. But maybe, she was about to find out, when his lips curled up, and painted out an unmistakable mocking smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s rare of you to keep on playing with that stupid investigation now.” He looked at Yoohyeon, before turning toward Yubin. “And that’s bold of you to mention that bitch’s name while asking me about my cousin, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin tried her best to keep her expression neutral. His word hit her, harder than she thought, but at least, she could have some information from this guy. One of that was, yes, Lee Siyeon was, indeed, Park Seonghwa’s cousin, no doubt.</p><p> </p><p>“Rare? Bold?” Yoohyeon, the only one who was clueless, just looked at her and the guy, eyes shifted back and forth as if she was watching a tennis match. “What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa didn’t answer her question immediately. Instead, he observed the tall girl with a tilting head and a string of scornful amusement flashing in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah… I get it…” He nodded in understanding. “You don’t know…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin balled her fists. It was getting harder for her to suppress the desire to hit this guy in the face, but lucky him, before she could land a punch on his perfect nose in her imaginary, or before Yoohyeon could ask something else, he abruptly changed the subject.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway, no one can talk about the same topic forever when there’s nothing new.” He gave out another shrug, then returned to his costume arranging task. “Have you heard anyone speaking about that bitch recently? Human’s just that funny… Pretend like they care a lot, but continue living their lives faster than anyone else.”</p><p> </p><p>Her fists slowly loosened up. She didn’t like the way he was looking at her, of course, but she couldn’t deny that he had a point. The discussion and theories about Chanmi’s death had indeed faded, way quicker than she had expected them to be. But that was how things worked. Nothing remained the centre of attention for good, especially for the ones believing that it had been an accident. Lives went on. Other stuffs to focus.</p><p> </p><p>People moved on.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so it’s rare of me to keep clinging onto this.” Yoohyeon nodded, before giving out a frown. “But is it a bad thing? To want to know the truth?”</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa’s hands stopped in the mid-air.</p><p> </p><p>“Truth hurts.” He finally said with his back against them, only exposed his side profile with an unreadable smirk. “So it depends. If you’re a masochist, then of course it’s not a bad thing.”</p><p> </p><p>Neither of them uttered another word. The air in the changing room suddenly fell into an uneasy silence. Yubin could see that her tall friend was looking at her with pure confusion, but she couldn’t bring herself to answer any of her unspoken questions at this time. Her focus was still on Park Seonghwa. There was a part of her still being scared of what he might say out loud, but…</p><p> </p><p>The short haired deeply inhaled. So… She was overestimating herself so much? She wasn’t <em>that </em>ready to face this guy as she thought she would be?</p><p> </p><p>Damn…</p><p> </p><p>“So… Siyeon, huh?” The guy lifted his chin, his smirk quickly faded as if it never existed. “No wonder why Lee Hongbin was <em>that </em>scared…” Then came a chuckle. “Now I wonder…”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t need to say anything else. Yoohyeon looked confused, but Yubin understood. But if that was the case… Then she still couldn’t be sure of one thing…</p><p> </p><p>What was Lee Siyeon to this guy?</p><p> </p><p>“But anyway, I hope you’re not thinking that I killed that bitch to revenge for my dear cousin’s death, are you?” Seonghwa sarcastically emphasised on the word ‘dear’. “That’s an offend I’m not gonna take it lightly, though…”</p><p> </p><p>“For accusing you killing someone?” The tall girl blurted out.</p><p> </p><p>“For assuming me going that far to seek revenge for that idiot.” Again, his gaze landed on Yubin. An annoying gaze that she wished she could just wipe it off his handsome face. “Your friend will be the first one agreeing on it, right, Yubin-nim?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired didn’t say anything. Neither agreed nor disagreed. Not verbally, at least. She ignored her friend’s questioning look. Locking her eyes with his, the Yubin tried her best to not avert her eyes anywhere else. If that was how he wanted to play with her mind, then she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of him being right.</p><p> </p><p>And things would be way easier if Park Seonghwa just shut up. Which wasn’t the case, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“You were there, too, weren’t you?” Cocking an eyebrow, he gave her a smirk, and a question that didn’t require any answer from her. “The day my cousin was beaten and filmed; I mean. I remember not doing anything. And I also remember seeing you doing nothing, either…”</p><p> </p><p>Then he stopped. A brief moment to enjoy the shock on Yoohyeon’s face when she turned to the short haired with a half bewilder half questioning gaze on her normally goofy face, before continuing.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, don’t be <em>that </em>surprised, Yoohyeon-nim.” Park Seonghwa mockingly drawled. “She made the right choice, if I have to be fair. Who knows how far those bastards could go on her, you and, what’s her name again? Ah, Lee Gahyeon, isn’t it?” An annoying finger snapping sound reached Yubin’s eardrums. “… If she did stand up for my stupid cousin, that is. And judging on the look on your face… Maybe I exposed her a <em>little bit </em>too much, I think?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin didn’t know how she appeared to be, but she tried her best to remain a neutral state. Which was hard. She’d never thought keeping her calm face could be this hard.</p><p> </p><p>“But… Yeah.” Now, he gave them a shrug. “Don’t be too harsh on why she chose to hide it and lie to you. Not everybody can admit that they’re cowards, after all…”</p><p> </p><p>“And you think that’s what makes you different from me?” The short haired squinted her eyes. “By admitting something I don’t dare to admit?”</p><p> </p><p>“Me?” Pointing at himself, he chuckled. “I have nothing to admit, ‘cause I’m not a coward anyway. I didn’t wanna save her. Even until now, I don’t wanna do it, and I was just being nice by assuming you wanted to protect someone else. Technically, I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking about, do I?” The smirk tugging on the corner of his lips suddenly disappeared. “But for me, nope, I don’t care if she dies or lives. I only care if she could just never appear in my life ever again. I did nothing because I didn’t want to, that’s all. End of story.”</p><p> </p><p>Then came a long pause.</p><p> </p><p>Yubin didn’t really dare to look at her friend’s expression. What he said was true. Both Gahyeon and Yoohyeon didn’t know she was there, and no matter how much the short haired wanted, she couldn’t bring herself to tell them that. Sure, she’d had reasons. Sure, she’d chosen her friends before anything else.</p><p> </p><p>But the consequence was too much for her to handle. And even though she knew she wasn’t at fault, it still shook her to the core when thinking of her friend’s reaction against her cowardice.</p><p> </p><p>Which was now. The most terrible timing she could have thought of. Damn…</p><p> </p><p>Yubin tried, but she couldn’t spare Yoohyeon a look. So she chose to fix her eyes on Park Seonghwa instead, used him as a distraction to get rid of this fear inflating in her chest. It wasn’t easy to read him. There was this anger. There was this bitterness. And harshness, too. And to be honest, she should be hating him after what he’d just said. This guy’d just revealed one of the secrets she didn’t want anybody, especially her friend to know. Even his word about his own cousin seemed harsh and ignorant. It wasn’t thoughtful. It wasn’t caring. It was anything but good. But…</p><p> </p><p>Yubin couldn’t bring herself to hate this guy.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t fully understand his feeling or his thought about Lee Siyeon, not yet, but she knew one thing.</p><p> </p><p>He was lying. And it looked like he didn’t even recognise that he was lying, because…</p><p> </p><p>There was this… pain. A clumsily hidden pain he was desperately trying to hide underneath, and she could see it, as clearly as daylight. Maybe he thought he would be able to get rid of his wounds if he pretended those wounds didn’t exist long enough. Maybe all this harshness on her was just a way for him to release his emotions he didn’t dare acknowledging, but…</p><p> </p><p>Damn it, she couldn’t help but supressing a scoff. Why did she have to understand all of this? Why did she have to be the one pitying him? Now, how could she be mad at him after knowing all of this?</p><p> </p><p>And there was Yoohyeon, too… Was she waiting for her response? Was she waiting for her denial?</p><p> </p><p>Great… Why did she even agree to come here again?</p><p> </p><p>But then…</p><p> </p><p>“Wow…”</p><p> </p><p>Surprisingly, Yoohyeon was the one breaking this uneasy silence among them, her abnormally sarcastic voice bluntly cut off Yubin’s train of thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Seonghwa, you’re amazingly pathetic, you know? Even more pathetic than I am, and there I thought I’m the most pathetic human being on Earth already…”</p><p> </p><p>Now, it was Yubin’s turn to be confused. And Seonghwa’s, too. But it seemed like his anger was outweighing his confusion, because…</p><p> </p><p>“What did you just say?”</p><p> </p><p>He growled, his voice was dangerously low. It was an unmistakable threat. “Yoo, stop it…” Yubin shook her head, tried to put some sense into her friend’s brain for her to stop. This shouldn’t be turning into this direction. If they fought… If she let them fight… There were gonna be tons of things to explain to Minji-unnie, and she seriously had no idea how to even start.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“I said you’re pathetic.” The tall girl didn’t hesitate to raise her voice, and repeated what she’d said loud and clear. “And you’re a coward, too. Do you need me to say it again? If your ears are temporary deaf, then I can say it again and again and again until you heard what I’ve just said.”</p><p> </p><p>“How dare you call me that?” Clenching his teeth, Seonghwa pushed Yoohyeon, so hard that the girl fell back on the floor. “What the fuck do you know? You have no fucking idea…”</p><p> </p><p>“Seonghwa, stop…” Putting a hand on his chest to stop the guy from taking another step, Yubin tried to help her friend up, a terrible hunch swirled in her chest when noticing a string of rage burning inside Yoohyeon’s eyes. “Please, Yoo, don’t… It’s alright, I don’t…”</p><p> </p><p>But this time, the short haired was the one being casted aside.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Binnie, it’s not ok, and I’ve had enough.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl said, before turning to Seonghwa, and returned his shove with a strength she’d never witnessed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I’m dumb. I don’t know what happened. And yes, I understand nothing. But this stupid brain does know that a guy putting his guilts onto my friend’s shoulders as if she has no feelings, and acting like he’s fucking innocent just to make himself feel a little bit better is even more pathetic than I am!”</p><p> </p><p>Each sentence was ended with a push, hard enough to force Seonghwa to wobblily stepped back.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine. You’re hurt. You’re suffering. You’re upset. Blah, blah, blah. But I’m so sick of everyone keeping on using that as an excuse to throw every shitty thing they’re suffering onto her as if she doesn’t feel any shit, and guess what? She’s too nice to let you be, but I’m not gonna let anybody treat her like she’s some kind of emotionless trash can ever again. In case you still don’t know, then I have news for you…”</p><p> </p><p>Ignoring Yubin’s pleading headshake, Yoohyeon grabbed his shirt collar, her voice was so loud, almost like a throaty shout at Seonghwa’s handsome face.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not the only one who’s hurt. She might look calm, but she’s baring much more than you can ever imagine, so don’t you fucking dare treating my friend like she’s a stone or something that doesn’t have any emotions. If you’re a decent human being, then at least don’t throw your shit in someone else’s face. Stop being a big baby, get some nerves and bare your own guilt or your bitterness or whatever the hell you’re suffering, you pathetic coward!”</p><p> </p><p>There was a long moment of silence after the tall girl’s yell. An unexpected one, if Yubin could be very honest. Of course, she herself was speechless by what Yoohyeon’d just said. The girl had been with her long enough to know most of the things running through her mind everyday, but never in her mind she’d thought that this day would come.</p><p> </p><p>The day someone would willingly stand up for her, fight for her, and protect her, like what her friend just did, especially after knowing… that.</p><p> </p><p>It’d been a long time the short haired didn’t feel like crying, and hell, it took every single ounce of effort she had just to suppress those unexpected tears, stay calm, and see what was going to happen next.</p><p> </p><p>Because, on the other hand… She also didn’t expect Seonghwa to be this quiet after hearing all of this.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not that weak to be hurt just by the death of someone I’m too unlucky to be related to…” He finally said, voice flattened, totally unconvincing. “And I don’t care about that dumbass. Why would I be hurt if I don’t care? I hated her. I still hate her until now…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh good, suddenly I’m not the dumbest person in the room.” The tall girl let out a mocking chuckle. “You can deny all you want, Seonghwa. In the end, it doesn’t make a lot of difference to me. It only matters to you, and if you’re too scared to face your own pain, so be it. Your loss, not mine.”</p><p> </p><p>His exhausted gaze fixed on her for a while, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Think whatever you want, I don’t care.” Deciding to not answer or confirm any of their thought, he pushed Yoohyeon’s hand off his shirt collar. “I didn’t kill Kim Chanmi. That bitch isn’t worth for me to commit some kind of crime and ruin my future. The same goes for my idiotic cousin. You can buy it or leave it, it’s none of my business anyway…”</p><p> </p><p>No one said anything afterwards, and what else could they say now? It was obvious that Park Seonghwa wasn’t really keen on talking anymore, and it seemed like both Yubin and Yoohyeon had pissed him off too much to ask for his co-operation.</p><p> </p><p>And even until now, with her eyes fixing on his about-to-leave back, the short haired still couldn’t be sure…</p><p> </p><p>Was his anger really aimed toward the two of them, or…</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t fucking believe it…” Scoffing, he shook his head with a scornful smile while walking out. “No matter if she was a shining beacon or a stupid rebel, no matter if she’s dead or alive, she’s still the one bringing troubles into my fucking life…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin’s eyebrows were knitted into a thin line. Normally, she was quite proud of her skill in reading people, but Park Seonghwa was giving her one of the most difficult time in telling what he was thinking. There was a weird mixture of hate and pain, of helplessness and unwillingness, of regret and sorrow, and some kind of conflicts she wasn’t able to spot on.</p><p> </p><p>As if he couldn’t stand Lee Siyeon’s existence, and he hated her, so much that no words could ever describe.</p><p> </p><p>But he also couldn’t accept the fact that she’d gone for good, if the short haired wasn’t wrong.</p><p> </p><p>And she didn’t think she was.</p><p> </p><p>Relatives… A whole new level of complicated relationship… An actual pain in the ass.</p><p> </p><p>But it was kind of an un-get-rid-able one, too. And there was something in the way he acted…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Seonghwa?”</p><p> </p><p>Against Yubin’s call, he didn’t fully turn around, but still stopped.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right. I’m an ignorant coward, and you have every right to hate me for not standing up for her.”</p><p> </p><p>The guy remained silent, but lucky her, he didn’t leave.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it’s late, but… I call Minji-unnie and ask her to bring Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim to stop them before it’s… You know…?”</p><p> </p><p>His eyes slightly squinted.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t dare to oppose them, and even though I do have my reasons for not doing it, I’m not gonna give out more excuses to defend for what happened. At that time, I thought I’d done everything I could.”</p><p> </p><p>The knuckles squeezing the door frame turned into white.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just… I guess it’s still not enough?”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t mean to let her voice sound so helpless.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t wanna explain for myself or defend for myself, because in the end, it didn’t matter anymore, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Deeply inhaling, Yubin genuinely said.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry for your loss, Seonghwa.”</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t much. It didn’t matter. But it was everything the short haired could do right here, right now.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it’s too late. I know it won’t change anything. I know it sounds hollow and empty and preachy, but… I’m so sorry. I really am…”</p><p> </p><p>The trembling affecting his tensed shoulders was getting more and more intense in every minute passing by. The silence was long. So long that it made all three of them uneasy, but no one dared moving a muscle.</p><p> </p><p>And then…</p><p> </p><p>“If you’ve already done everything you could, then don’t be.” Seonghwa’s voice was slightly choked. “At least you had the guts to not ignore her and actually do something.”</p><p> </p><p>His line was finished, but somehow, it felt like there was something left unsaid, and she kind of had a vague idea what it could be.</p><p> </p><p>‘Unlike me.’. Or something like that, maybe?</p><p> </p><p>But the short haired said nothing. Now, it was obvious that regret was overwhelming. His voice. His back. His frame. His everything.</p><p> </p><p>“And I can’t even say I care if that lunatic is gonna aim at Lee Hongbin or, you know, the last bastard pulling the strings next, but I didn’t lie. I didn’t kill that bitch. She deserves it, of course, and I’m glad that she’s dead, especially when I don’t have to soak my hands into the mud to get things right.”</p><p> </p><p>Neither Yoohyeon nor Yubin said anything as a response.</p><p> </p><p>“But if you’re looking for someone close to my cousin, then I do know one.”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired could notice her friend’s half surprise half nervous at Seonghwa’s sudden generosity.</p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes, rumours are true.”</p><p> </p><p>His monotonous voice was the only sound echoing through the small changing room.</p><p> </p><p>“Back when they were in Daegu, she and Siyeon were inseparable. I don’t know if they actually dated like a real couple, but…”</p><p> </p><p>There was a brief pause, and Yoohyeon was visibly holding her breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Her name’s…”</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa deeply inhaled, before letting out a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Kim Bora.”</p><p> </p><p>And so he left.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------</p><p>Fishing out the cigarette pack in her school uniform vest pocket, Bora lighted one up, slipped it between her teeth, sucked on, then huffed out a plume of smoke. It clouded her vision, but she didn’t mind. What staying in front of her eyes wasn’t what staying in her mind, and nothing mattered, anyway.</p><p> </p><p>No one chased after her. No one looked for her. No one wanted to beat the crap out of her. Not anymore, no.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe, in a way, she did change for the better after <em>that</em>.</p><p> </p><p>What a hell of an exchange. The price was so fucking expensive. But she hadn’t had a lot of choice back then.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t hold back a self-mocking chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>Why the hell did her smile still linger around her like this? Why did she remember everything, so clearly, even until now?</p><p> </p><p>“Kim Bora?”</p><p> </p><p>Still crouching next to some garbage bags in the dark alley, the small girl looked up, eyes slightly squinted. She had pretty good memory, but still, she didn’t recognise the woman in black suit standing in front of her right now. Her gaze scanned the woman, from top to toe, and of course, she wouldn’t miss a holster half hidden behind her blazer, which only gave her extra unanswered questions, but…</p><p> </p><p>Her eyebrows frowned, and she couldn’t help but chuckling. A mocking and scornful one, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not from Daegu.”</p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t a question, but the woman still shook her head, that annoyingly polite smile tugging on the corner of her lips showed no sign of fading away.</p><p> </p><p>“No. I’m from Goyang.” She tucked a lock of hair to her ears. Sexy hand movement, if Bora could be honest. “And I’m working in Seoul now.”</p><p> </p><p>The small girl huffed as a response, totally unimpressed. She didn’t really know what to say next. In fact, she had nothing to say to a cop, not to mention a Seoul cop, who should be staying and dealing with problems in a city that was two-hour of taking train away from where she was right now.</p><p> </p><p>But yeah…</p><p> </p><p>“Kwon Yuri, SPD Homicide Detective officer.” The woman offered her hand, which Bora completely ignored. “You’re pretty hard to find, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t necessarily wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t that the point when you wanna stay out of trouble?” Sucking on another cigarette smoke, the small girl averted her eyes, and nonchalant said. “Clearly, I’m not good enough. But I don’t recall doing any illegal shit to attract an officer like you to come after me, so what the hell are you doing here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Good news is, I’m not here to arrest you, Bora-ssi.” Yuri nodded in agreement. “We’re not in charge of fining students skipping classes and smoking underage, so if you want, you don’t really have to hold your guard up against me. I’m not biting, really.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then what about bad news?”</p><p> </p><p>The woman tilted her head, eyes glinted in amusement when meeting Bora’s question. But it didn’t last long. The small girl had no idea her goofy face could be <em>that</em> serious if she wanted it to.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m investigating a homicide case disguised as an accident at Jung Dok High in Seoul.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora had to suppress the desire to scoff when hearing that name. Now, how should she comment on the speed of their investigation? It was hard to categorise it, really.</p><p> </p><p>Irony.</p><p> </p><p>“And how am I supposed to lower my guard again? That’s even more serious than smoking and skipping classes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Beats me.” The sexy lady in suit nonchalantly shrugged. “But…” Her soft eyes suddenly sharpened, which gave the small girl a pretty good chill in the spine. “You don’t seem very surprised or scared at what I’ve just said, you know? Most clueless people will.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora cursed under her breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Put your fucking cards on the table already.” She glared at the woman, pulled out every effort to keep her annoyance under control. “What is that you wanna say?”</p><p> </p><p>But the woman looked unimpressed. And fucking unreadable. Bora tried, tried, and tried, but she couldn’t thoroughly see what the hell this woman was thinking about. And what pissed her off even more was that she casually asked her another question instead of answering what she’d asked.</p><p> </p><p>“You know Kim Chanmi?”</p><p> </p><p>“Never heard of the name.”</p><p> </p><p>“Weird, that’s a pretty common one.” Yuri tilted her head while scratching her chin. “I myself know at least three Kim Chanmis, not to mention the Chanmi I was referring to, but anyway… How about Lee Siyeon? This one is rarer, so it should be easier for you to deny if you don’t know her, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora didn’t fully know what happened next. When her consciousness returned, only thanks to the fucking pain on her right wrist, she suddenly realised that Kwon Yuri’s face was abnormally close to her fist. The fist now had been blocked effortlessly, and the woman grip was like a steel cuff on her small hand, which left her no room to either step back or punch forward.</p><p> </p><p>Fuck. She would be so glad if she could go for the latter option.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be so easily triggered, really.” Nodding, the woman released her fist while carefully taking one step back, not too far from her, but not too close to be punched all of a sudden. “I don’t wanna bring you to any interrogation room, so let’s just talk in peace, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora huffed out. The anger churning in her guts was still there, but she tried her best to suppress it this time. Punching a cop, no matter how tempting it was, was plainly stupid. She had a chance to lee away once. She doubted she would have a second chance if she lost it again, right here, right now.</p><p> </p><p>So clenching her teeth, tightening her jaws, she gritted. “Then what the fuck do you want from me?”</p><p> </p><p>“The truth.” was her simple answer. “Was she your girlfriend back then? Lee Siyeon, I mean.”</p><p> </p><p>The small girl deeply inhaled. Never in her thought she could have expected this shitty question to be able to hurt her <em>this </em>much. Like there was no more air left in her lungs, and she had to urge herself just to fucking utter out a word.</p><p> </p><p>“No.”</p><p> </p><p>A weak one, unfortunately. But at least, it was the truth. A fucking ugly truth she didn’t want to admit out loud. And it was irony, really, that she could see the I-don’t-believe-you expression written all over Kwon Yuri’s pretty face, when she was bringing herself to tell her exactly what she wanted.</p><p> </p><p>Fuck…</p><p> </p><p>But at least, this woman said nothing about it.</p><p> </p><p>“And where you were on the thirtieth December last year, the twenty-ninth January this year, the twenty-seventh February this year, and the twenty-ninth March this year?”</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, she said nothing.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, a four-hour set list of mix-genres songs, the blurry scenery behind the train window, and the smell of newly cut grass flashed in Bora’s brain.</p><p> </p><p>“School.” Looking straight into the woman’s eyes, she shrugged. “Where else could I be? I’m not usually skipping classes, not as often as I used to, though.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora had a few scenarios of what might come next in her head. It could be the woman incredulously looking at her for more than just a minute. It could be the woman asking her some other standard questions thingy. Or she would just piss the shit out of her and enjoy the result of it, just like what she’d been doing since the first minute they’d met.</p><p> </p><p>Shit. That was so stupid of her. How could she just let this woman play with her mind like that? But… Maybe it was just because of her. It seemed like she could never remain calm after hearing her name being called out like that.</p><p> </p><p>Hmph… Shit.</p><p> </p><p>Anyway…</p><p> </p><p>She had expected anything but a simple shrug and an “Okay.” It surprised her even more that this woman didn’t even say anything else, or spared her another look to check if she was telling the truth or not.</p><p> </p><p>That was new. And so fucking unexpected.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, and you’re good to go, too.” Kwon Yuri waved her hand, cheerfully announced while glancing at the vibrating phone in her hand. “I’ll come and get you if I need anything else. Or if you need something from me…” She slipped her card visit into Bora’s tiny hand. “… Feel free to call. For anybody else…” The woman annoyingly waved her hand, before winking at the small girl. “But I'll make an exception for you. Guaranteed."</p><p> </p><p>Bora could only huff in disbelief. She almost told this arrogant and flirty bitch that she was gonna throw this piece of paper away, but the woman had left with her phone pressed onto her ears, obviously didn’t care what Bora would do with her precious card visit.</p><p> </p><p>The woman’s sexy back quickly vanished after she turned to the left, and exited the alley.</p><p> </p><p>Bora blinked a few more time. What the fuck did just happen?</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but sparing the card another glance. Kwon Yuri… A homicide police officer. Not a sergeant, not yet, but…</p><p> </p><p>Damn…</p><p> </p><p>If only she could control her temper a little bit better…</p><p> </p><p>A quick switch of her wrist, and the small girl already get rid of the card inside her tiny hand.</p><p> </p><p>Time to go back to her room, and hopefully, she could have some more peace to think about everything. The old piece of news sticking on her desk might not help a lot, but…</p><p> </p><p>It could clear her mind, for sure.</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>“Daegu?” Taeyeon’s hand, which was holding a salt shaker, stopped in the middle of the air. “What the hell are you doing in Daegu?” But then, she suddenly remembered something she’d read in her girlfriend’s files… “You met the kid?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I did.” Yuri’s whining voice stole from her a slight chuckle. “Gosh, you won’t believe it, really. Kids these days are scary. Luckily our Yoohyeonie is not turning into that kind of girl…”</p><p> </p><p>A surge of pride suddenly swirled in the CSI’s chest, and painted out a faint smile on her lips. The mentioning of her younger sister always warmed her heart up for no reason. “Well, she’s a good girl, I’ll give you that.” Nodding, she continued with the seasoning process for her chicken soup. “And what’s wrong with that Bora? A troublemaker?”</p><p> </p><p>“As far as I guess? A rebel lacking of necessary care and love, having trust issues, and capable of lying without even blinking.” Her girlfriend’s voice was audibly unhappy, but to be honest, she wasn’t completely sure her frustration was aiming at the kid, or someone else. “She can look at me, straight in the eye, and lie. If it wasn’t because her answers conflicted with what I knew, I wouldn’t even notice that she was lying. Of course, I pissed her off so she would reveal more, but I really doubted if she could just keep lying like that if she wasn’t pissed…”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon’s eyebrow arched. Wow, that really was something. Not that she cared, but still…</p><p> </p><p>“And now she got me wonder what kind of bastard or bitch or whatever the stupid pronounces are made her like that, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, the CSI cocked an eyebrow. So it really was aimed at someone else.</p><p> </p><p>“But after all, you still know she was lying, right?” Gently calming Yuri down, she softly said. “Then you had what you wanted already… And you’re dealing with people. For various reasons, people lie. As simple as that.”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri didn’t say anything else for a while, but the CSI could still hear her sighing on the other end of the line.</p><p> </p><p>“I get it. It’s just…”</p><p> </p><p>“Annoying.” Taeyeon finished her girlfriend’s line for her. “Babe, I know. Otherwise, I wouldn’t choose working with objects and evidences over human being. The point is, you get what you need now. And at least that school board committee agreed and allowed you guys to get in the Spring Festival, so actually, things aren’t that bad?”</p><p> </p><p>The officer still remained silent, but the CSI knew she wasn’t as frustrated as she’d been a few minutes ago. So…</p><p> </p><p>“Just do whatever you want to do next, alright?” She gently promised, meant every word she said out loud. “I’ll be here for you no matter what happens, as always.”</p><p> </p><p>Another long pause, before…</p><p> </p><p>“I was fooled…” Her girlfriend’s dramatically fawning voice was finally back. “And there I thought my girlfriend was shy and all… How can you say something that sweet and heart-melting and capable of stealing my heart away with such a straight face, Kim Taeyeon?”</p><p> </p><p>The CSI let out her distinctive ahjuma laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Technically, you don’t see my face, you can’t know if I blushed or not.” Not allow the officer to be happy for too long, she added. “But you’re right, I’m not blushing. And putting all the jokes aside, Yul, can you do me a favour?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon could sense that her teasing mode had vanished in a single heartbeat. Her girlfriend had always been that sensitive when coming to detecting her change of mood, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“Just… Let Hyeonie stay out of this, please?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a long silence dropping between them, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Your sister’s stubborn, Yeonnie. Not that I really want to drag her into this, it’s just… She wants it. She wants to know the truth, and in fact, she’s doing everything pretty much on her own. Of course I won’t let her get herself into danger or something, and I’ll protect her with everything I can, but stopping her…”</p><p> </p><p>The CSI couldn’t object anything. Her girlfriend was right. Every point given was reasonable, but…</p><p> </p><p>“I just have a bad feeling about this…”</p><p> </p><p>A moment of hesitation.</p><p> </p><p>“You felt it?” Her girlfriend’s voice was full of concern. “The culprit’s mind, when you got up there?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon turned off the stove. She couldn’t concentrate on her soup anymore, especially when Yuri’d just hit at the bullseye like that. Her specialty. One of the reasons why she was the best crime scene investigator on the field. One of the reasons why she could always find something at the most unexpected place, within or outside the crime scene radius.</p><p> </p><p>“This one’s a little bit hard to explain.” She finally let out a heavy sigh, hand raised up to rub that spot on her temple. It was always hard for her to find the exact word to describe how she felt. “I haven’t sensed that kind of… conflicting fierceness for a long time, but yeah… And those kinds of feelings often come from the most frustrating cases, ever. And those three sets of shoeprints, examiner’s one included, on those staircases worry me, too…”</p><p> </p><p>There was a brief pause, much shorter than the last time.</p><p> </p><p>“And there’s more, isn’t there?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon’s lips painted out a faint smile. Yuri really was the one knowing her the best. So she thought about it for a while. The first crime scene gave her a feeling of a human. A human who was about to lose their humanity to coldly steal the life of one of their own kind. There was some kind of hesitation she always felt when facing the scene of a first-time killing killer.</p><p> </p><p>The next one… Sometimes, there might be some hesitation left, but…</p><p> </p><p>“I doubted our culprit would be hesitate in the next kill, that’s all…”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri thought about what she’d just said for a minute, then…</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok, Yeonnie.” Her girlfriend finally confirmed. “Let’s just do our best as we normally do, and everything will be okay, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>There came a weak chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay…” She agreed, hesitated for a second before shily whispering. “Love you. Drive carefully, got it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes Madam, I love you too.” She could sense her smile from the other side of the line. “See ya in dinner tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>Weakly smiling, Taeyeon nodded, and hung up the phone.</p><p> </p><p>There was something she still hadn’t said yet.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t just Yoohyeon being physically hurt that she was worried about. And it wasn’t nice to expose her girlfiend’s worry over the phone, too, and to be honest, she didn’t really want her to worry too much. It was just…</p><p> </p><p>The CSI’s eyes landed on the calendar hung on the wall.</p><p> </p><p>Today was…</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>April, the twenty-second.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Bora had finally calmed down.</p><p> </p><p>Her gaze moved to the left. From the calendar hung on her wall, to the news establishing Siyeon’s death pinned next to it.</p><p> </p><p>Five days…</p><p> </p><p>She raised her hand, gently caressed the old piece of paper.</p><p> </p><p>She stopped at the three words ‘Lee Siyeon’ for a really long time, then reluctantly left.</p><p> </p><p>Then her gaze shifted downward.</p><p> </p><p>It stopped at the picture of Lee Hongbin in the opened Jung Dok High School yearbook on her desk.</p><p> </p><p>In just a blink of an eye, the tenderness in her eyes had completely vanished.</p><p> </p><p>Five more days… until the infamous Spring Festival.</p><p> </p><p>Her hand moved toward the yearbook.</p><p> </p><p>Five more days… until the next Full Moon.</p><p> </p><p>She stopped at the picture of his handsome face.</p><p> </p><p>And mercilessly…</p><p> </p><p>Her soft yet strong hands tore it apart.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh, uhm, I'm not really sure what to say here to be honest... Ah, right, I almost forgot, about references I used to hint at Singnie. In this chapter, we all know why there's a relation between Singnie and the Full Moon, so that was one. We all know she's our Wolfie in real life, but in this fic, I found that this 'relation' was more relevant than just that :"&gt; And yes, 'Paradise Lost' and 'Overdose' are the two songs our Main vocal Wolfie had covered, and those two remained the top 2 personal favourite covers of mine :"&gt; And one more thing: The name of this school, Jung Dok was actually the romanisation of the word 'Overdose' in Hangul :"&gt; So yeah, I did plan quite a few just to tribute to our Singnie. I know she wouldn't be appearing, not officially, in this fic, but yeah. A start is always important, and I want to leave that important spot to my beloved ultimate bias in DC :"&gt;</p><p>Anyway, that was kinda long, so... Who misses Minji and Yoohyeon? *raise hand* I hope that it's not just me missing both of them here T.T But they'll be back in the next chapter, and yes, our Spring Fes is coming, so stay tunes for it. We're half way through the fic already :"&gt; (Or more than halfway? I'm not sure, I'm terrible at calculating the length for both my fic and my chap unfortunately T.T)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. "Conceal yourself well. Or else..."</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Spring Festival is here!</p><p>A calm moment before the storm arrives.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yas, another chapter came after a while of waiting~ Personally, I'm not really satisfied with it, and again, I failed to precisely calculate the length of my chapter (not sure if I should laugh or cry here 😭), but well... </p><p>Once again, thank you all so so so much about the comment, kudos, and hits 😭 I nearly reached 70 kudos, and even though it's not much, it still means a lot to me, really 🥺 Thank you, and please, enjoy your not-so-thrilling ride today 😉</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoohyeon didn’t mean to eavesdrop on Taeyeon-unnie’s conversation, but…</p><p> </p><p>Could someone blame her for not being able to hold back her curiosity? Her unnie’s opinion on the case really was something worth listening to, and it wasn’t everyday that her sister would just openly discuss about it with her. Okay, indirectly in this case, ‘cause technically, she was discussing it with Yuri-unnie, not her, and some parts of it hadn’t made a lot of sense to her, ‘cause she and Yuri-unnie always had this unspoken but still understood kind of communication, but anyway…</p><p> </p><p>Her point was, eavesdropping was wrong under any circumstances, it was just… too tempting in this case? So… May God forgive her, please? It was a guilty pleasure, and to be honest, she was suffering from listening to what she shouldn’t listen to, so it was kind of… punishment already?</p><p> </p><p>Anyway…</p><p> </p><p>Sitting in front of her desk, Yoohyeon stared at her Literature notebook without even reading a single word. She couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d heard, even though it’d been a few days passing by. At some point, it felt like there was completely nothing to move on with this case. And at this point, it felt like her brain was overloaded with too much information invading at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>The relation between Kim Chanmi’s and Lee Siyeon’s death. The unexpected appearance of some Kim Bora, which she didn’t even know of, not until Seonghwa’d told her about the girl’s existence. And speaking of that girl… she had more than enough motive to be their Full Moon Killer (the name was still too cool, but… yeah), and what Yubin’d said wasn’t completely wrong.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“We’re just a school, not a military base or something. Anyone could have gotten in. It’s just… outstanding if she didn’t wear our uniform on any usual class days, but…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Right. No uniform? That problem was a piece of cake. Buying a new set in store was costly, but, yeah… Easy enough to lay a hand on one. Besides, the grand rehearsal night was an extracurricular activity. No one was required to wear uniform on that night. The only exception might be the Orchestra Club, but they, too, were wearing way more expensive sets of suits, so it didn’t count, either.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“The same goes with printing and stuff… The janitors were paid to send them for her, right? Anyone could have done that, to be honest… And there’s no CCTV at our library or self-studying rooms, too…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Yoohyeon let out a heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>Sure, those were convincing and reasonable, and she wasn’t denying any of them. It was just… uncertain? Or something like that? Or was she just being stubborn and didn’t really want to admit that she was wrong when saying that the culprit was an insider?</p><p> </p><p>Then, when she was still unsure if that Kim Bora had anything to do with this case, voila, Yuri-unnie just came to see the girl, as if her unnie was suspecting her as well. Which made her confused a little bit. Ok, a lot, and knowing that girl was a total liar didn’t make it easier, either.</p><p> </p><p>Not to mention Taeyeon-unnie’s feelings at the crime scene. For some reasons, she could totally understand what her unnie meant by those vague words. She didn’t quite get the fierceness part, but still…</p><p> </p><p>The weird feeling when she looked down to where Kim Chanmi’d laid dead. It wasn’t just hesitation. Or it wasn’t just the hesitation when coming to committing the crime for the first time in his life. There was something more than that. Something… extra. Something… off.</p><p> </p><p>But just like Taeyeon-unnie, Yoohyeon had no idea what was off, let alone describing how off it was.</p><p> </p><p>And as if everything wasn’t complicated enough, here went those three sets of shoeprints, too.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but frowning. Should she ask Yuri-unnie how this Kim Bora looked like?</p><p> </p><p>By the way, speaking of that girl…</p><p> </p><p>Two knocking sound on the tall girl’s door pulled her back to the ground. Startled, she dropped the pen in hand, and turned around. “Come in.”</p><p> </p><p>The door opened, revealed the familiar smiling face of Yuri-unnie. “Dessert time.” Her unnie raised a box of Baskin Robin ice cream in hand. “Everything should line behind a good cup of ice cream, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Smiling, Yoohyeon caught the small box tossed toward her. She didn’t need to have another look. Must be cheesecake, her all-time favourite ice cream flavour, which was no longer a secret to either her sister or future sister-in-law.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, unnie.”</p><p> </p><p>Opening the lid, she slowly dug her spoon into the smoothly frozen texture. It wasn’t too cold. The flavour was so good. Everything was perfect. Except…</p><p> </p><p>“Still thinking of the case?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s hand stopped in the mid-air. Oh, here it went again. Yuri-unnie’s special psychic ability. It’d been quite a while since Taeyeon-unnie’d dated her, and she still couldn’t get used to it. But actually, if she could be honest, it wasn’t too bad that her unnie got to the topic before she did, really.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just…” Letting out a sigh, she put her ice cream on the desk, and gave the officer a weak shrug. “… Kind of wondering how you got to know about Kim Bora, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that? It’s actually…” Yuri-unnie nodded, before raising her eyebrows. “Wait…” The look on her face was suspicious. “How do you…?” And realised the answer by herself. “Oh shoot, you overheard that?”</p><p> </p><p>After a few seconds of hesitation, the tall girl nodded. If it wasn’t because she wasn’t in the mood, she would laugh at the I’m-doomed face of hers already.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, okay, it didn’t see that coming, but well…” Scratching her nape, her unnie let out a super heavy sigh before reluctantly admitting. “Yeah, I got my way. A little bit different from you, I guess…”</p><p> </p><p>“But still sharing the same root, aren’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t need to say anything else. The only connection linking to Kim Bora at this stage, Lee Siyeon, and she got that part already. If it wasn’t thanks to her unnie, she wouldn’t even think about guessing the dates and connecting them to the loner, but…</p><p> </p><p>If she hadn’t known Gahyeon… Or if she hadn’t known of that incident… She wouldn’t have linked all of this to Lee Siyeon.</p><p> </p><p> And apparently, Yuri-unnie couldn’t have known about what Gahyeon had done. Then…</p><p> </p><p>“Why did you <em>really </em>come and find her?”</p><p> </p><p>She wasn’t dense enough to not notice Yuri-unnie didn’t answer her question as directly as she normally did. Which meant that…</p><p> </p><p>“I guess if you heard, you also heard Yeonnie, too.” The elder let out a sigh. “She didn’t want you to interfere in, and this time, I’m sorry, Yoo, but I have to agree with her about it. Partly, yes, but still counts.”</p><p> </p><p>Bingo.</p><p> </p><p>Her unnie didn’t want to let her know, that was. Her smiley face turned dead serious in just a blink. But it didn’t help much. And mentioning about what Taeyeon-unnie didn’t help, either. In fact, if anything, it even pissed Yoohyeon off more than it should have.</p><p> </p><p>But could someone blame her for that? Was she really that useless to be overprotected like this? She didn’t do anything too outstanding. She was always with someone else. She knew the rule of never being alone when sticking her nose in this kind of business. If she was careful like that… If she was careful enough, then how could a lone killer, especially someone so strict with dates (and maybe targets, too) like this, hurt her all of a sudden?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>He might have a partner, you idiot…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>But even so…</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you see me more than that…” Pressing her lips, she finally shook her head, unbelievingly. “I thought you… Unnie, I’m not a child anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t want to be mean. She didn’t want to be childish. She tried to hold all her frustration back. But she couldn’t help it. Yuri-unnie was the only adult ever treating her like equal. She was the one giving her the feeling that maybe she wasn’t a complete loser, and maybe, she, too, could do <em>something </em>or be something larger than herself, but now…</p><p> </p><p>This disappointment… She just couldn’t hold it in.</p><p> </p><p>And yet…</p><p> </p><p>“What I see in you is already greater than what <em>you</em> see in you, Yoohyeonnie-ah…”</p><p> </p><p>She froze to her spot for more than a second.</p><p> </p><p>Not just because she didn’t really expect her unnie to be this straightforward, but… Damn… Her voice was so gentle… Which made she feel like an ungrateful brat. Great. Oh, or actually, made it great timed two, ‘cause she couldn’t bring herself to believe in what her unnie’d said, either.</p><p> </p><p>Oh… Great. Awesome.</p><p> </p><p>“I know you’re upset, but… If you calm down a bit, please, think about what I’m gonna say now.” Her unnie suddenly reached out her arm, and gently patted her palm in comfort. “Pain doesn’t ignore you no matter what age you are. Sixteen or sixty, it doesn’t make any differences, so actually, no matter how old you turn into, Yeonnie will still care about you, Yoo. We both do, and we both will, that will never change, ever.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t hold back an irritating huff. That was the only thing she could never doubt, but it didn’t change the fact that too much caring was, indeed, annoying.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you gonna stop me then?”</p><p> </p><p>Looking straight at her unnie’s eyes, she raised her chin up, a taunting manner she rarely showed out to anybody to see. It should be enough to irritate anybody. It should be enough to make her unnie angry and leave her alone and all.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m not.” Still being gentle, Yuri-unnie didn’t even hesitate to shake her head. “You won’t anyway, so there’s no point in doing it. And I know you’re frustrated. Stopping you is meaningless, and it’s something I’m not capable of doing, either. Not that I’m making excuses, though, it’s just… that.”</p><p> </p><p>She was dumbfounded.</p><p> </p><p>For a moment, Yoohyeon didn’t really know what to say or how to react. But really, what could she say now? It was like punching in a pillow. There was no bouncing back, so there was completely no reason to keep on arguing.</p><p> </p><p>And… She didn’t understand it, either, but her disappointment was fading. Draining, to be exact. She couldn’t even feel it anymore, especially when looking at Yuri-unnie’s concerning eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“And… as much as I know how frustrated you are, and I can’t stop you getting into this, Yoo…” Her unnie let out another sigh. “You can’t stop us from caring about you, either.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh great, now she even felt this familiar tremble. In some way, it warmed her heart up, for sure. Tonight wasn’t an exception, but it was a little bit different. Yuri-unnie’s words did make she wanna give up, stay back, and focus on her mid-term exam just like everybody else, but…</p><p> </p><p>The corner of her eyes caught it. Some short pieces of beige suede lace. A few pieces of white embroidery floss. A plastic bag of grey feathers. And a bag of black and brown beads.</p><p> </p><p>The material she had left after she’d finished making that dreamcatcher given to Minji-sunbaenim.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t help but scoffing. Self-mocking, and full of regret. It was stupid. She was stupid. If only she could turn back time… If only she hadn’t made it. Or if only, she hadn’t given it to her, then maybe, giving up would have been way easier than it was, right here, right now.</p><p> </p><p>“You wanna tell me about it?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger didn’t even question. Of course, Yuri-unnie wouldn’t miss where her eyes landed. It was obvious, and she didn’t try to hide it, after all. And for some reasons, her brain could finally be calm and not turn into some stupid useless mess when thinking of what’d happened back then, but…</p><p> </p><p>“We kissed.”</p><p> </p><p>She started. Her voice was calmer than usual, even calmer than her expectation. She had no idea why, but it didn’t really matter. At least she could talk, so she just continued.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know why I kissed her. I didn’t even confess to her or anything, so maybe, it was just me being carried away, or my stupid brain was fogged or cursed or something…”</p><p> </p><p>Even until now, everything felt vague. All she could remember was that how gorgeous Minji-sunbaenim had been in that white dress. How her eyes had turned into two beautiful crescents. How bright her smile had been. And how she had looked at her. Her joy had overwhelmed her tiredness in those pair of orbs, and it was glinting, so softly, so gently, and…</p><p> </p><p>Lovingly, maybe?</p><p> </p><p>“But we kissed. Or I kissed her.”</p><p> </p><p>Or how bad she wanted to be with her. Or how bad she wanted to make that glint last. She wanted to see her happy.</p><p> </p><p>She wanted to <em>make </em>her happy.</p><p> </p><p>“And… It’s just… For a moment, I thought that things had gone well…”</p><p> </p><p>There was a lump suddenly occupying her throat, and she pressed her own lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Just for a moment, I really believed that she felt the same way as I do. Like, for once, what I imagine, dream of even, had actually come true?”</p><p> </p><p>She struggled to swallow it down.</p><p> </p><p>“Feels like I got lifted up. Unreal. Too good to be true. My mind said it wasn’t real, but somehow… It makes sense to me. Or it’s just my brain wants to think in that way. Maybe. Stupid brain…”</p><p> </p><p>Just to fail, in misery and regret.</p><p> </p><p>“Cause the next second, she pulled out of the kiss, and… I don’t know…”</p><p> </p><p>She still remembered it. Even now. How warm her lips had been. How cold when she’d broken the connection. And that was the weirdest thing that she could never bring herself to understand. The temperature’d been about eighteen degrees Celsius or something. Couldn’t even be considered cold to the least.</p><p> </p><p>But Yoohyeon’s spine had trembled. It was like being injected with liquid Nitrogen, straight into her marrow, spreading to every corner in her body, and she could do absolutely nothing to stop it.</p><p> </p><p>“She said she was sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>Now her nose started to tingle.</p><p> </p><p>“And I said there was nothing for her to be. It’s normal. She doesn’t have to feel the same way as I do, and that’s fine, and I mean it, I really do…”</p><p> </p><p>And her lips were quivering, too.</p><p> </p><p>“But seeing her leaving like that… Seeing her running away from me… Seeing her avoiding me… Seeing her being tired and hanging in there, holding her exhaustion and everything under that sunshine smile, and it seems like she went back to the days she wasn’t with us, and I can’t do anything about it…”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t utter another word. That stupid lump was too big to be ignored. And her tingling nose. And the wrench in her chest. She even felt her vision become blurry, so quickly that she didn’t know what else to do to stop the tears from falling down. Maybe she should blink them in. Maybe she should stop thinking about Minji-sunbaenim’s lonely frame, or her leaving back, or eyes, or looks, or stares, or her everything.</p><p> </p><p>But she couldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>She knew she should stop caring.</p><p> </p><p>But her eyes kept follow the elder’s forlorn back. And her mind…  </p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>And as if it wasn’t bad enough, she couldn’t do anything for her. Not anymore. Only looking. All thanks to her stupidity.</p><p> </p><p>Arg… Damn it. Why could those tears just hold still? Her eyes were such a nice place to stay… And why did they have to be so damn hot?</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe I’m just being childish or dramatic or exaggerating things and all, and I wanna have some kind of distraction, but…” Sniffing, she quickly wiped all these tears away, at least could finally collect herself enough to continue explaining. “Maybe, she wouldn’t be so tired and stress if I can catch this guy? I feel like he was the one started every bad thing around us…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon stopped for a moment, before unbelievingly smirking.</p><p> </p><p>“It even sounds like I’m blaming it all on him now, and I know maybe my feeling is not even worth considering. I’m just a kid, and I’m really stupid when it comes to feelings and stuffs, so maybe I don’t know what the heck is loving someone, or how to love them and all, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Now she could look at Yuri-unnie. She didn’t mean to make her voice sound so pathetic, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Catching him is all I can do, for me, and for her, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>The officer didn’t say anything. She didn’t even nod, but there was something in the way she was looking at her… And the way she squeezed her shoulders… She didn’t really know how to reason it. But her tears seemed to be easier to control. At least, to the point that she could hold them in. Or they just simply stopped coming out, and she was fine with either of it.</p><p> </p><p>Gosh, how much she hated crying.</p><p> </p><p>But somehow, she was feeling lucky because Yuri-unnie was here and listened to all of her petty ranting about stuffs. She always had this vibe that made the younger more… relaxed. And it felt… easier to bear things. Like the sky could fall, fine, but there would be someone here for her no matter what happened, or something like that.</p><p> </p><p>So she just smiled. A weak one, and her eyes were still hot, but the atmosphere had… changed. It cleared her mind, somehow. Just a little bit, but… Yeah… Enough for her to think.</p><p> </p><p>And the more she thought about it, the more she felt like it. How she’d been there on the day the final threat’d been sent. How she’d gotten into the case. How she’d been there while Kim Chanmi’d been killed. How she’d noticed where he’d been when committing this cruel crime.</p><p> </p><p>How she’d felt his presence even when he’d gone.</p><p> </p><p>It had always been her. Not really from the start, but…</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, unnie, but it feels natural for me to go on… As much as I want to listen to you, I just… can’t. I can’t give up. I need to know the truth. I have to. It has to be me catching this guy.”</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing to confirm. There was no solid proof, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Not you. Not somebody.” Never shying away, Yoohyeon firmly said. “Me.”</p><p> </p><p>Her unnie still remained silent. She returned her gaze, of course, but this time, the emotions in her eyes were too much for her to interpret. As if the elder was evaluating her, or no, not just her, the whole situation, and…</p><p> </p><p>Something couldn’t be spoken out loud?</p><p> </p><p>Damn it. If only Yubin was here…</p><p> </p><p>But her unnie didn’t let her be in vague for too long.</p><p> </p><p>“I won’t stop you, that’s what I said, right?” Standing up, Yuri-unnie finally let out another sigh in defeat. “And I keep my word, don’t worry. And maybe Yeonnie’s gonna kill me if she knows, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Another sigh, and the elder took out her phone, typed in something, and just a few seconds later, it was Yoohyeon’s phone vibrating sound cut off the weird silence between them two. Blinking, the girl’s eyes shifted back and forth, from her own phone notification to her future sister-in-law in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>It was a recording file. Could it be…?</p><p> </p><p>“The conversation between Kim Bora and I, yes.” Yuri-unnie said, her expression seemed uncertain, but she still put her hand on her shoulder, and slightly squeezed it one more time. “I can’t say much about how I got to her, however. Lee Siyeon’s files are confidential, and you’re still a civilian, so I can’t reveal anything more, but this one…”</p><p> </p><p>Meeting her eyes, she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s been considered unofficial already, so… Yeah…”</p><p> </p><p>The younger couldn’t say anything. This… This was too much beyond her own imagination. What could she even say now? A simple thank you to her unnie could never be enough.</p><p> </p><p>“And Yoo?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon raised an eyebrow. Shoot, when did Yuri-unnie get to the door? But it didn’t matter now. Her unnie was looking at her with the seriousness rarely appearing on her face, and she just forgot about the recording file all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>“Trust your guts a little bit more.” Her unnie gently said. “I know Yeonnie is a really big beacon for you to look up to, but… You’re not stupid. Far from it, even. And I know you won’t believe me, but… Your heart is at the right place, so just learn to trust it a little bit more, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyebrows were now furrowing. As far as she knew, trusting her guts didn’t bring her anything good.</p><p> </p><p>“Like what?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, like… Your feeling for that girl does matter?” Now came a nonchalant shrug. “Or maybe your girl does feel the same thing for you?”</p><p> </p><p>Sadly sniggering, she shook her head. Not again… Why did everybody like giving her some vain hope like this? Okay, she got that seeing her being sad wasn’t very comfortable, but anyway… Giving false hope could lift her spirit up in a moment, alright, but didn’t it just make everything harder when she was hit with reality?</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I know you won’t believe me, but Yoo, remember this…”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie gave her one last smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Having feelings and refusing to be in a relationship doesn’t always conflict with each other. There’re tons of reasons why a person can like someone but still deny to be with who they want to be with. It might sound confusing, but yeah… That’s how life is.”</p><p> </p><p>Now, the younger had to blink. This was too hard for her to understand, let alone to even believe in. How could it…?</p><p> </p><p>“And from what I saw? I really think your girl is one of those people, so yeah…”</p><p> </p><p>And with that, she left Yoohyeon, a melted cup of ice cream, a forgotten Literature notebook, and a damn mess of complicated feelings fighting inside her chest behind.</p><p>------------------------------------------</p><p>Minji opened her eyes, allowed everything from the surrounding to enter her brain. The colour of food courts, carnival game stalls, souvenir kiosks, and peach blossoms. The smell of food mixing with the vague scene of the flowers. The exciting shouts and talking. The happy faces of numerous people. Even the weather was beautiful. The sun was shining. The sky was cloudless.</p><p> </p><p>What a perfect day for holding a festival.</p><p> </p><p>She deeply inhaled.</p><p> </p><p>At least the whole month had passed by in peace. Except for the fact that she hadn’t slept well, or hadn’t had a lot of time to take an actual break, but anyway. Her body started to get used to lacking of necessary rest recently. Sometimes she was spacing out, her mind was empty, and her ears still buzzed, but that was fine.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t feel tired. She didn’t feel restless. Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>And after today, maybe, if the play went smoothly, then she could have some rest. But until that…</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes landed at the phone screen. Five pass eleven. Their play was scheduled on three o’clock in the afternoon, so there was still around four hours to relax a little bit before getting themselves ready. She looked a little bit further. In a corner of her eye, she could see Seungyeon, Yujin and Seunghee were queueing for some Daegu local food. Seonghwa and Youngjo were competing at the shooting counter on her left-hand side.</p><p> </p><p>They weren’t happy. Not as happy as others, but still. At least, they were trying to enjoy some Festival atmosphere. Or it was just a way for them to temporarily forget all their doubts, fear, and nervousness.</p><p> </p><p>The only two weren’t keen on enjoying it were Hongbin and Yonghoon, but those two weren’t Minji’s priority at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>Since the accident… Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim had rarely left Hongbin all alone by himself, and Yonghoon… The waiting room, which was now used to store stage props, too, was already filled with police officers, so there was absolutely no need for her to worry about them.</p><p> </p><p>But that didn’t mean she had nothing to worry about.</p><p> </p><p>And although the root of her worry actually wasn’t even her clubmate, and yes, maybe she came all the way up here just to be someone’s emotional trash bin, yet again…</p><p> </p><p>“You’re okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo, who was sitting in front of a whole producing music set, with a big screen, a laptop, microphones and a MIDI, just glanced through her own shoulder. She didn’t fully turn around, or say anything. And with this distance, plus the fringe covering her eye…</p><p> </p><p>Minji couldn’t really read her emotion, unfortunately. So before the other girl could give her an answer, she stepped inside the studio room, put her backpack next to hers, and sat on the only empty chair left.</p><p> </p><p>Now it was better. At least she could see the younger was frowning in displeasure.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve just succeeded in shooing Gain-seonsaengnim away, and now you…” Squinting her eyes, Jiwoo monotonously said with her jaws tightening. “What do you mean by that?”</p><p> </p><p>The leader blinked a few times. Her eyes couldn’t leave the younger’s fierce stare. But there was something more than just fierceness in there, too. Frustration, yes. Then, a string of tiredness, too. A kind of exhaustion the composer was trying hard just to hide it from the outside world. And… nervousness, maybe?</p><p> </p><p>It was obvious to her that the smaller girl had neither intention nor interest to talk to her about anything, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Judging from the fact that you’re still here until now, obviously, you’re not completely satisfy with what you gave us, and yet…” Inhaling deeply, Minji licked her dry lips. “You haven’t been able to change it, let alone coming up with anything new since Chanmi’s… You know…” A moment of hesitation came when Jiwoo’s eyebrows twisted, and the leader locked her look with the other’s. “And Chanmi used to be your friend, too. I’m just… wondering if you’re really ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo remained silent for nearly thirty seconds. For that time being, the younger just turned around and looked at her, her face was strangely unreadable, before letting out a snigger all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>“You really are a goody two shoes, aren’t you?” The disgust in her orbs was unmistakable. “I don’t recall us being close at any time, Minji-sunbaenim, so stop putting on that annoying goody-goody act of yours, will you? What do you <em>really </em>mean by asking me that damn question?”</p><p> </p><p>The elder frowned. She wasn’t be able to see for herself, but if she could, there must be a visible confusion on her face, no doubt.</p><p> </p><p>Which, unfortunately, pissed Jiwoo off even more than she already had.</p><p> </p><p>“I can see why they put you in the leader position, sunbae.” Coldly, the younger glared at her, lips painted out a mocking smirk. “Great acting. All naïve and innocent as if you don’t think I might be killed because I was befriending with the killed ‘sinner’. As if you really cared, and didn’t think of me as a sinner, right, sunbae?”</p><p> </p><p>Raised her sleeve to wipe an imaginary tear, she continued.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m touched.”</p><p> </p><p>Now it was Minji’s turn to be silent. To be honest, she didn’t know what she should say for now. What Jiwoo’d just said wasn’t completely wrong. She did think the girl was a ‘sinner’, after all. Or else, why would she even be here?</p><p> </p><p>It was just…</p><p> </p><p>“Is it really that hard to believe?”</p><p> </p><p>Silence, once again, dropped between the two of them. A really long one, indeed. And suffocated. And somehow, a little awkward, too. And neither of them seemed to want to cut it off.</p><p> </p><p>But eventually, one of them had to, and Jeon Jiwoo chose to be the one doing it. Not in a very nice way, however.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re lucky, Minji-sunbaenim.” Stepping closer to her, the younger only stopped until she could see her own reflection in the other’s pupils. “Being the school’s pride, being pampered by most school teachers and the board and all… It’s harder to break you, of all people, I’ll give you that. It’ll cause a bigger ruckus, of course… But don’t depend on it too much and get ahead of yourself, sunbae…”</p><p> </p><p>Her low voice did give the elder a good chill in the spine.</p><p> </p><p>“Because it doesn’t mean I <em>can’t </em>break you and your promising future. In fact, I’m capable of doing it, more easily than you can ever imagine. So drop your act, or get the fuck out of here. You’ll have to be a saint to care for someone despising you so much, and you’ve already known that fact so well. But are you a saint, sunbae?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s jaws tightened as she tried to suppress the tremble against the younger’s malicious harshness. And it was strange. How her harshness didn’t vanish or diminish despite having to carry an extra hint of mockery behind.</p><p> </p><p>“’Cause as far as I see…” Now came a smirk. “… How you, with that hypocritically displeased face of yours, never come out to stop me even though you know what I did… You’re definitely not.”</p><p> </p><p>The elder didn’t say anything for a moment. What Jiwoo’d said, again, wasn’t wrong. Far from wrong, even, if she had to be fair. She wasn’t a saint, and she would never be one. Neither did she try to be one, which was why after nearly a minute waiting for her tremble to die down, she deeply inhaled, before frankly admitted in a slow voice.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right, I’m not. And yes. I don’t like you, or how you, Hongbin, Chanmi, and your gangs harassed other students just because you feel like it. I’ve seen quite a lot of them still suffering from trauma caused by you, one of them even took her own life, so maybe you’ve noticed, ‘don’t like’ is just an understatement. That I can be blunt.”</p><p> </p><p>That earned her a deathly glare from Jeon Jiwoo, but she didn’t falter.</p><p> </p><p>“And you’re right. I never stopped you before, because as much as I know you won’t, I also know being stopped could encourage you to continue your bullying even more than letting you do as you pleased. And I’m not gonna say what I did was right. It’s just plain ignorance, and the last time I’ve checked, I think I am just as sinful as you are. That I can be blunt, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Neither averting her eyes nor backing down when facing such a stare containing so much anger and hate, she continued to look straight into the younger’s eyes, her soft voice was the only sound breaking the silence between them.</p><p> </p><p>“But… Now… Even if it’s just for once… I wanna stop being ignorant.”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was so flat now. She couldn’t feel anything in it, except tiredness and exhaustion of being fed up.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just… It’s really too much to bear. Just watching, and do nothing, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>For once, she intentionally dropped her calm mask against someone else. Someone she never even liked, either as a friend or as a human being. But…</p><p> </p><p>“I don't wanna continue to ignore everything I shouldn’t ignore anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>For the first time, Jiwoo’s harshness eyes slightly flickered, and Minji had to take another inhale.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t just saying without doing. She’d actually gone on and asked people around her about what she’d had an idea of, after thinking, and really putting her head into it.</p><p> </p><p>How Hongbin, Chanmi, and the girl standing in front of her had been close friends until the end of last year. How Chanmi had completely stopped bullying the others after that. How she’d been constantly making mistakes during her practices before being killed. How Hongbin’d also stopped bullying after Chanmi’s death. How he’d been abnormally quiet, but also blasted out his rage all of a sudden during their practices recently. How she had heard of Jeon Jiwoo, this girl, had been even crazier than usual in harassing some other lives here at Jung Dok High. How this girl hadn’t been able to focus on her business and compose anything after Chanmi’s death, although she had, literally, nearly locked herself in this tiny studio room.</p><p> </p><p>It might seem different, but it told her the exact same thing.</p><p> </p><p>Of all the bullies… Three bullies befriending together. Three changes of conduct. And there were Gain-seonsaengnim and Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim, too. How they never let Hongbin and Jiwoo alone…</p><p> </p><p>Coincidence? That thought never even came to her mind.</p><p> </p><p>Yet again… Minji let out another sigh.</p><p> </p><p>Seeing Jeon Jiwoo being stubborn and harsh did remind her one thing.</p><p> </p><p>If this girl didn’t allow her to be nosy, which, unfortunately, was the case, she wouldn’t be able to do anything even if she ever wanted. The younger was right. They weren’t even close. Maybe coming here to see if the girl was ok wasn’t something she should do.</p><p> </p><p>But Minji knew it too well. That she would regret later on, if she wasn’t here at this exact moment.</p><p> </p><p>It, no doubt, was something she must do, whether she liked it or not.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not really sure what I can do, and I can’t even force you to believe in what I’ve just said. I know you won’t be happy seeing me warning you, or having Gain-seonsaengnim overprotecting you, so I guess I should just stop here. But among the three of you, you’re the only one who never stop bullying the others, so…”</p><p> </p><p>Grabbing the backpack, she walked to the door, took one last glance toward the younger’s unreadable face.</p><p> </p><p>“Take care, Jiwoo. Warning you is all I can offer to help.”</p><p> </p><p>She stopped for a second to think about it. The thing she was going to say… Maybe she shouldn’t say it, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Since you’re not a theatre performer…”</p><p> </p><p>Yet again, she said it anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck.”</p><p> </p><p>And this time, actually left Jiwoo alone in peace, if the girl could ever have some.</p><p>-----------------------------------------</p><p>They turned around, and had a good look.</p><p> </p><p>So this was the famous Spring Festival of Jung Dok High.</p><p> </p><p>Pretty impressive, if they had to admit. Quite a lot of kiosks. Quite a lot of stalls. Quite a lot of people. Lots of excitement and happiness. A sign of potential chaos, but somehow, it still gave out a vibe that everything was perfectly under control.</p><p> </p><p>Too perfectly, that it was almost unbelievable to think that high school students could do <em>this </em>much to arrange such an organised event, so yes, definitely a plus they didn’t really want to give out. And actually…</p><p> </p><p>Their eyes aimed at the entrance of the hall at the end of the road. New venue for art performances, so it seemed. And yes, there were lots of people hanging around, even though it wasn’t showtime. Not yet. Those happy people, or to be more precise, pretending to be happy people. They couldn’t see much, especially from this far, but…</p><p> </p><p>Yes. SPD. Seoul Police Department. Homicide Division, no doubt.</p><p> </p><p>A small snigger escaped from their lungs. Oh, this should be intere…</p><p> </p><p>Frowning, they slightly turned to the left, as someone’s shoulders had just bumped into theirs.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, sorry…” It was a girl, and it didn’t take her more than a second to apologise. “My bad, I…”</p><p> </p><p>At first, they didn’t care, but then, the girl unfinished apology forced them to look at her a little longer. A cute one. Young, dark long hair, with a face somehow reminded them of a baby fox. She was looking at them, her elegant eyebrows narrowed in uncertainty. As if she was wondering about something. As if she’d met them somewhere else. Or… she was looking for someone else in them, that would be more precise?</p><p> </p><p>But they couldn’t recall who she was. And they had neither time nor interest to find out.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok, don’t worry about it.”</p><p> </p><p>They politely said. As expected, the girl was pulled out of her own trance, a little bit harder than necessary. Then, she quietly said, her lips curled up, painted out one of the saddest smiles they’d ever seen.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, I don’t mean to stare. It’s just…” The fox girl looked at them, straight in the eyes, still searching, but somehow gave up. “You look like someone I know… Like… really, <em>really</em> alike…”</p><p> </p><p>They said nothing in response, but the gaze on their eyes changed as their brain gears turning in their head. It couldn’t be… Were both of them thinking about the exact same girl? Had she really…?</p><p> </p><p> Their lips curled up in misery.</p><p> </p><p>“All good.” Was all they could say after spending quite a lot of efforts to utter something. Then, clearing their throat, they added; the lies effortlessly came out with a gentle and polite smile. “I’m sorry, but I need to go now. My friends are waiting…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, sure.” Blinking, the little girl suddenly realised something before flinging her head to her back. “Mine are, too. See you around soon?”</p><p> </p><p>They nodded, and sent the girl away with the same soulless smile from the start. Their calculating eyes fixed on the girl’s small back, and glinted when seeing who she was heading to.</p><p> </p><p>The group of three other girls, and one of them, the tallest sitting in the middle, was magnetising their attention the most.</p><p> </p><p>Another huff escaped from their throat as they walked toward the opposite direction, quietly muttered under their breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Or… Hopefully not.”</p><p>-----------------------------------------</p><p>Gahyeon was late.</p><p> </p><p>Not that it was something unusual. She always got up early for preparation and stuffs, but for some reasons… Being late really was her specialty.</p><p> </p><p>Anyway, her point was, it was nothing uncommon that she wasn’t on time. Besides, today wasn’t even class day, so it was absolutely fine for her to be late.</p><p> </p><p>It was just… This time, it wasn’t totally her fault that she was late.</p><p> </p><p>But could anyone blame her? It was almost like a doppelganger. That girl she’d just bumped into… Her face… Her facial features were terribly similar to Siyeon-sunbaenim’s, so much that if the girl wasn’t shorter, or her voice wasn’t higher than her sunbae, she would have thought that she’d seen a ghost.</p><p> </p><p>Even though it wasn’t that bad if it really was her ghost…</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon deeply inhaled. Ghost or no ghost, eventually, that girl wasn’t her sunbae, after all. She was gone, forever, and the youngest had to spend nearly a month just to accept that cruel fact. There was no way she would let anyone or anything mess up with it. She’d had lots of fake hopes and expectations, and she’d tasted them, enough for her entire life even, so thank you very much, but no.</p><p> </p><p>So she couldn’t be any gladder to see her friends bantering with each other now, even though obviously, she had accidentally chosen the worst possible time to show up, when Yoohyeon was interested in the ground all of a sudden while muttering.</p><p> </p><p>“… I did feel something’s strange, too…”</p><p> </p><p>There came a short silence, before Yubin-unnie let out a helpless sigh and headshake. Seemed like her unnie wanted to say something, but decided not to, as if she wanted to avoid being dragged into some kind of argument. Incredulously, Gahyeon turned to Dong-unnie, who was looking at Yoohyeon with deep sympathy, and asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Should I ask what are you guys talking about, or not?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you know, same old thing about being logical or trusting her intuition…” The Chinese shrugged. “But maybe, her intuition turns out to be…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Gahyeonie…” Cutting off Dong-unnie's line, Yoohyeon suddenly called out, and the youngest didn’t have to be too smart to notice her attempt to change the subject. “You wanna listen to this?”</p><p> </p><p>Or partly. Maybe.</p><p> </p><p>Squinting her eyes, she suspiciously furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>But her friend only gave her a pair of earphones instead of answering, despite Yubin-unnie’s headshake and Dong-unnie’s concerned eyes. For some reasons, she didn’t have a good feeling about this, but there was something in Yoohyeon’s eyes…</p><p> </p><p>Concern, for sure, but there something else…</p><p> </p><p>Something like… faith?</p><p> </p><p>The youngest sighed in defeat.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright…” Taking those earphones in her friend’s hand, she plugged them in her ears. “Guess I’ll find out when I listen to it then…”</p><p> </p><p>No one said anything else, so the youngest could just focus on whatever played on her friend’s phone. She could realise Yoohyeon’s future sister-in-law’s voice. She had no idea who this Kim Bora was. But then…</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t take her too long to understand why Yubin-unnie and Dong-unnie were worried.</p><p> </p><p>The mentioning of <em>her </em>name did give Gahyeon a good punch in the guts.</p><p> </p><p>And it didn’t just stop there. There was something in the way Kim Bora hesitating told her that the faceless girl speaking to Yuri-nim was feeling the exact same thing as her. A hit in the chest, a nausea feeling in the stomach, and a fucking big lump occupying her throat, their throats, all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>The atmosphere was abnormally still when she took the earphones out.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re ok, Gahyeonie?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin-unnie concernedly asked after a few seconds observing her, and the youngest just let out a slight nod. Ok was a little bit far, but overall, it wasn’t too bad. Sure, she was still feeling that pang of twitch in her chest, but she didn’t shake like a leave when hearing anything about Siyeon-sunbaenim.</p><p> </p><p>Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“Not too good, but not unbearable.” Honestly admitting, she gave her short haired unnie a reassuring smile, nodded at Dong-unnie before turning to Yoohyeon. Seriously, this idiot should really learn how to hide her relief through those relaxed shoulders before speaking about whether she should reason thing logically or follow her guts. “And… why are you letting me listen to this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just wanna know your opinion.” Pressing her lips, the tallest looked straight into her eyes. “What do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Ok, now, that question of hers was too vague. “About what?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not really sure, to be honest…” Yoohyeon bit her lower lips. “Your first impression of this Kim Bora, maybe?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon tilted her head, and gave it a really good thought.</p><p> </p><p>“A genius.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of silence, clearly because they didn’t expect her answer to be that… off. But that was exactly what she thought when listening to this conversation, and there was no reason for her to lie about it anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Erm…” Yoohyeon hesitantly raised her hand. “… More specific, please? A genius how?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest blinked. She didn’t expect the tallest to not notice it, but well…</p><p> </p><p>“She can recall immediately what she did on specific dates asked all of a sudden.” Gahyeon shrugged while stealing the ice cream cone from Yubin-unnie’s hand. “Heck, I won’t be able to do that. I never remembered what I did yesterday, not to mention any dates passing by for a whole month or more. If that’s not genius, then I don’t know what is.”</p><p> </p><p>Her three unnies just stunned like three statues sitting on the edge, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Or… She was lying?”</p><p> </p><p>Dong-unnie slowly mumbled. Licking her successfully stolen ice cream cone, the youngest thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. That was another possibility, too. Or actually…</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon stopped eating. That was even more reasonable than this Bora being a genius, if she could be honest. That Bora girl must have prepared the answers beforehand… Or otherwise, normal people should be reacting just like she would, right? Claiming that they didn’t remember, or something like that, even though it might sound suspicious?</p><p> </p><p>“Of course…” Yoohyeon’s face was brimming with joy while snapping her finger. “That must be it. So she was <em>indeed </em>lying. I can’t believe it takes me <em>that </em>long to notice it…”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe try relying on your guts more often?” Her Chinese unnie gently advised, and obviously, on behalf of Yubin-unnie, who was clearly restraining herself to not say <em>that </em>out loud. “Like Yubin said, your unnie is your unnie, and you are you. This must have proven you something, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, Gahyeon continued to eat the ice cream. Maybe their talk before she’d arrived was all about that, but yeah, she seriously doubted that it would change anything, if she had to be honest. She didn’t call her an idiot for no reason, did she? Failing in even noticing how brilliant her brain was, and overly admiring her sister were just two of the many reasons why Yoohyeon was an exact dumbass in the youngest’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“But…” Deeply inhaled, the tall girl let out a heavy sigh. “… Well, I’ll try, but I’m not guarantee it’s gonna go anywhere good, though…”</p><p> </p><p>Oh yeah… Being stubborn was another one, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway… Oh, look at the time now…” Gahyeon rolled her eyes at her obvious attempt to avoid the subject. “It’s nearly showtime already. Sorry guys, but I need to run…”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest looked at her phone too. Well, half past one was not really near three o’clock, but before any of them could say something, the tallest had already stood up, packed her stuffs, waved her hand with a stupidly suspicious eagerness.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait for me at the backdoor exit when the play’s over, please? See ya…”</p><p> </p><p>And with that, she left, as quickly as her thin legs could carry her away.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon looked at her other two unnies, and without saying any words, all three of them just sighed in unison.</p><p> </p><p>“Can someone teach her how to lie?” Yubin-unnie suggested. “Or at least, come up with more acceptable excuses?”</p><p> </p><p>“You know it won’t happen.” The youngest shrugged while chewing on her cone. “She’s too stubborn. And fucking stupid to learn how to lie.”</p><p> </p><p>“Besides, isn’t it better if she could stay like this?” Frankly admitting, Dong-unnie, again, spared both of them from speaking out their thoughts. “Sure, it’s unbelievable how bad her act is, but it’s fun watching her lying <em>that </em>obviously, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>That stole from Yubin-unnie and her a chuckle. But they didn’t last long anyway. Hers quickly faded when her short haired unnie returned to her serious mode, which was only about thirty seconds after.</p><p> </p><p>“And how are you feeling?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine, really.” Averting her eyes, she stared at her ice-cream-less cone. It wasn’t precise, but that was the best she could pull off at the moment. “Not like I’m hiding anything from both of you, and I’m telling the…”</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t asking about the recording though.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin-unnie’s answer baffled her quite a bit.</p><p> </p><p>“When you came, you looked… pale.” The elder continued. “And… a little sad, maybe?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, that.</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon sat down to the spot left by Yoohyeon a few seconds ago. She almost forgot except for Dong-unnie, Yubin-unnie was also good at detecting her emotional state. And seriously, she wanted to tell both of them something they wanted to listen to, but she didn’t really know how to put it. <em>‘I met someone looking awkwardly like Siyeon-sunbaenim, and I couldn’t even ask her anything about it.’ </em>kind of thing?</p><p> </p><p>But that sounded really stupid, if she could be honest. Of all people, she was the one who should know that the elder was an only child. There was simply no way those two could be related, that was all.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, what was the matter anyway?</p><p> </p><p>That girl wasn’t Siyeon-sunbaenim, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just…” The youngest let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know if it’s important or not. It might just be… I don’t know… But… I’m fine, I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>Both of them looked like they didn’t really buy it, but lucky her, both of her unnies knew too well to not push her to do something or say something she didn’t want to.</p><p> </p><p>“So… Wanna go to the hall then?” Dong-unnie suggested, and Gahyeon couldn’t be happier when the Chinese changed the subject, way more smoothly than Yoohyeon could ever pull off. “We’ve seen almost everything we need to at this Festival, haven’t we?”</p><p> </p><p>Even though she’d just arrived, the youngest nodded. She wasn’t too keen on this Festival. Sure, she liked having fun, but not today. She was strangely out of mood for that.</p><p> </p><p>And Yubin-unnie agreed, too, even though she looked a little bit more reluctant than her, but anyway.</p><p> </p><p>The threes headed to the hall. Without Yoohyeon around, it was strangely quiet when all three of them seemed to be comfortable with no one saying anything to each other. And… Gahyeon wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. It felt… fine, really, but on the other hand…</p><p> </p><p>Her brain couldn’t help but thinking about that recording file she’d just listened to. And that faceless girl as well.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Bora.</p><p> </p><p>Now, it was obvious that she was lying, but if that was the case…</p><p> </p><p>Did she have anything to do with all of this?</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes narrowed. That was also another possibility… And the girl knew Siyeon-sunbaenim, for sure… Besides…</p><p> </p><p>Another frown appeared on her forehead. There was some oddly familiar feelings when she listened to this recording, but… It was just a voice, and… Wasn’t this just the first time she’d heard this voice?</p><p> </p><p>But if it really wasn’t the first time…</p><p> </p><p>Then where the heck did she hear this kind of voice from?</p><p> </p><p>“Erm… Did Yoo tell us to wait at the backdoor exit when the play ends?”</p><p> </p><p>Dong-unnie hesitantly asked, but neither Gahyeon nor Yubin-unnie said anything in response. Not that her Chinese unnie would need it anyway, but…</p><p> </p><p>Maybe Yoohyeon should <em>really </em>consider replacing the ‘when’ with another million-dollar word.</p><p> </p><p>Like… ‘If’, maybe?</p><p> </p><p>Suppressing a sigh, the youngest didn’t need another look to know what her unnies were thinking about. Not much different from what she was thinking, and that wasn’t even a mere guess.</p><p> </p><p>Yes… If…</p><p> </p><p><em>If</em> the play could really end…</p><p>-----------------------------------------</p><p>Pushing the glasses up, they looked around, and checked. The police didn’t put lots of personnel here to check up on guests entering the hall. But maybe that made senses. As much as they knew, the sinner wouldn’t appear among the audiences anyway, so there was no reason for the police to pay much attention to the guests, wasn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>Good for them, then.</p><p> </p><p>Focusing on the waiting room made peeking at someone being at somewhere else a piece of cake, and yes, sneaking in would be less complicated, if there were only two policemen in janitor disguises sent out to patrol this entrance area, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>But actually, having more wasn’t a big problem anyway. They didn’t wear sunglasses, but the frame was big enough to hide their eyebrows. Light make-up, of course, to have a natural appearance, just like almost everyone around them. Casual clothes, plain colour, a little bit baggy, to be unattractive.</p><p> </p><p>The key was to never stand out of the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>If they got near some of those cops… Just laughed it off. As if they had been a part of the nearest group of people since forever. Followed the flow. Laughed. Smiled. Walked steadily. Never too fast or too slowly. Did whatever their surrounding did. And…</p><p> </p><p>Got in.</p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t difficult. But now… They should be more careful.</p><p> </p><p>The security inside the hall was tighter to some point. But their advantages remained the same. Bigger number of policemen, sure, but the crowd was their strongest ally, after all.</p><p> </p><p>Sitting next to another group of fangirls in the middle row, they didn’t see Lee Hongbin anywhere, but of course, he wouldn’t be here now.</p><p> </p><p>Later. On this stage. Fifteen minutes to go, according to the brochure they were holding in hand, so there was nothing to be worried about.</p><p> </p><p>For now…</p><p> </p><p>They leaned on the back of their seat; eyes never actually left the stage in front.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Let’s just stay back, relaxed, and enjoy the show.</em>
</p><p>-----------------------------------------</p><p>Changing into her full costume, Minji came back to the waiting room.</p><p> </p><p>Just like when she’d left, the air was terribly quiet. And it was unbelievable. There were eight people, including herself, from the theatre club, Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim, Yoohyeon, and six other police officers, who had been done with their checking, in this ten-metre-square room.</p><p> </p><p>Sixteen people, versus this kind of silence…</p><p> </p><p>This kind of silence, versus a faint sound of ‘The Devil’s Trill Sonata’ performed on the stage at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>And this kind of silence, versus the noise she could vaguely hear from the excited audience, waiting for their performance today…</p><p> </p><p>It was another kind of mind torture, really. </p><p> </p><p>The leader took another good look. Dense, tensed, and nervous were three words she could quickly pick up to describe her clubmates’ emotional state. But unfortunately, that wasn’t even the worst thing she noticed.</p><p> </p><p>They were all tired. Mentally drained, from all kind of pressure. They needed to perform their very best in front of scouters. They needed to stay calm to be able to do so. They needed to suppress their fear of what might happen. And she could be sure that the image of Chanmi being crushed by the light frame was flashing, over and over again, in most of their brain at this very moment.</p><p> </p><p>But most of them didn’t seem to notice their own stress. Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>And Hongbin seemed to be the worst.</p><p> </p><p>Pale, sick, with a layer of thin sweat covering his make-up forehead, tightened jaws, clenching fists, so tight that his frame was slightly trembling. Even the presence of police couldn’t help much. The guy was still shaken to the core.</p><p> </p><p>Waiting for his turns. Like lambs before being sent to an abattoir.</p><p> </p><p>Silence of the lamb?</p><p> </p><p>The leader slightly sniggered. Under a more normal circumstance, that one was good. Not really precise here, however. A sudden quietness was scary, sure, but this initial silence…</p><p> </p><p>At this point, she couldn’t even tell which one was worse.</p><p> </p><p>Minji couldn’t hold back a quiet sigh, but this time, even her sigh was drowned by the sound of the speaker announcing that someone had found Jiwoo’s purse and gave it back to the Lost &amp; found room.</p><p> </p><p>No wonder why she didn’t see her, either here or on the first-row seat.</p><p> </p><p>Then, the silence was back.</p><p> </p><p>But if she could be honest… Maybe it was better this way. She didn’t think there would be any of them could listen to any assuring words coming from either her or Kyunhyun-seonsaengnim without feeling nauseous, <em>more </em>nauseous than they already were, so yeah…</p><p> </p><p>Silence…</p><p> </p><p>Highlighting the tic tock sound coming from the clock hung on the wall.</p><p> </p><p>And there was the sound of ‘The Devil’s Trill Sonata.’, too.</p><p> </p><p>Faintly, yes, but the pain, the anger, the sorrow, the regret didn’t vanish just because of the volume being faint.</p><p> </p><p>Her hands twitched. Unconsciously, and uncontrollably.</p><p> </p><p>But she wasn’t the only one being edgy in this room.</p><p> </p><p>Hongbin, who was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt with a nauseously pale face, was obviously another uneasy one.</p><p> </p><p>And yes, Yoohyeon’s worrying eyes sometimes aiming at her whenever the girl thought she didn’t notice didn’t help her feel any better. Alright, slightly, she silently grunted, but still…</p><p> </p><p>Anyway… Now wasn’t the time to think about it. She should be preparing herself.</p><p> </p><p>Not any other roles she’d acted out. Not even herself in this cruel reality. Today wasn’t about her or her life, no.</p><p> </p><p>Jiu was waiting. It was Jiu’s life she must show the audiences today.</p><p> </p><p>Getting rid of Kim Minji’s ego. Getting rid of Kim Minji’s thoughts. Getting rid of Kim Minji’s self.</p><p> </p><p>She closed her eyes, mentally counted. Sixty seconds.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Breathe in.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The Devil’s Trill was coming to an end.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Breathe out.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>So was self-pitying, and rages.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Breathe in.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>No more cry. No more pain. No more hurt.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Breathe out.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Forget about Kim Minji’s nervousness. Suppress Kim Minji’s uncertainty. And trample down Kim Minji’s dreads.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Breathe in.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Get into Jiu’s head…</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Breathe out.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Pull out <em>her</em> thought. Allow <em>her</em> pain to grow. Let <em>her</em> rage in charge. And…</p><p> </p><p>“Right…”</p><p> </p><p>Kyuhyun-seonsaengnim clapped his hand, along with the applause echoing from the auditorium, loudly announced.</p><p> </p><p>“Show time guys.”</p><p> </p><p>All Minji’s emotions had vanished.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve been working hard. No matter what happens, I’m proud of you. All of you. Now…”</p><p> </p><p>Jiu’s eyes flung opened.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s get this show on the road!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yup, so in my head, this chapter should end at the scene you-know-what, but... LOL, I have a feeling ending here is better for now, so I'm just gonna go with my guts (and yes, if you asked, this chapter is nearly 9340-word long, not too much, but yeah, my old bad habit really came out this time). Anyway, I hope this chapter can partly tell you what Minji'd done during the last month, because I personally couldn't find any other place to put her in the main plot (*cough* Thank you Yoo *cough*, oh, just kidding, I love you and your brain so much 😚). A little bit more insight view on the kiss, and yes, that's all for now 😈</p><p>The next chapter might not be this long, however, so I guess I'll see you folks really soon 😉</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. "Good luck."</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Pay for your ignorance.</p><p>And pay for your sin.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, as promised, I'm back~ A little bit earlier than I expected, but yeah, it was fun writing the scene I've been planning since the fic started. I'm not too sure if this scene would live up to expectation, 'cause again, I'm not totally satisfied with it. Anyhow, I'm not gonna rant any longer, so... Enjoy this ride, folks. </p><p>The storm had finally been here...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sitting next to the light control board, Yoohyeon’s eyes were firmly nailed to the stage. She had seen the play countless times, yes. She had, literally, practiced with them to perfect her timing of light control, to a level that she could now turn the correct switch, or press the right button with her eyes closed, and that wasn’t even an exaggeration, not for one bit.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, she still did. Attentively observing, carefully not to miss every single detail of it. Sometimes, she would avert her eyes, too. To scan the whole auditorium, tried to detect any abnormal behaviours and stuffs.</p><p> </p><p>So far, there was nothing abnormal, except…</p><p> </p><p>“You’re being strangely quiet today, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>She exclaimed, neither asked nor looked at Yuri-unnie, who was clearly gave her an incredulous gaze before nonchalantly shrugging.</p><p> </p><p>“My advises are precious, Yoo.” Folding her arm, the elder leaned on the door frame, teasingly admit. “If you’re not Yeonnie’s sister, you can pretty much forget about receiving them from me. Besides…”</p><p> </p><p>The younger glanced to her back. The teasing mode on her unnie’s face had faded, so obvious that even she could see.</p><p> </p><p>“Comforting someone too familiar with acting while I myself being worried isn’t very wise, is it?”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Yoohyeon had to turn her head around. She never expected to hear this kind of blunt admit, let alone coming from some confident one like her sister-in-law, but the way the elder looked at her… An eyebrow raised, but there was a ray of dead seriousness on her normally smiley face as well.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t lie. No matter the reason, she <em>was </em>worried.</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you so surprised?” Yuri-unnie’s lips slightly curled up. “Is what I planned enough? I ask myself that question every time I plan a protection plan for anyone, not just for your clubmates, Yoo, and the answer is always vague.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger didn’t really know what to say. It was the first time she’d seen her unnie like this. Of course, she knew the elder could be <em>very </em>serious if needed, but…</p><p> </p><p>“It keeps changing.”</p><p> </p><p>She was dumbfounded. To be honest, she had completely no idea Yuri-unnie could snigger that… sarcastically.</p><p> </p><p>“I can visualise lots of scenarios, but there’s nothing to confirm what I thought would happen in real life. Only until bad things happen, threats are caught or it’s too late to even do something, but before that, like now…”</p><p> </p><p>There came a quiet sigh, and the younger blinked in bewilderment.</p><p> </p><p>Listening to her unnie’s worry was unexpected, yes, but it was also… How should she put it? Unreal?</p><p> </p><p>She had never imagined her confident and cool and smart unnie to have this kind of thought. The elder always brought her the vibe of someone who could see the sky was falling, and she could just get into her suit with the most reliable smile on her face, save everyone she could before happily dying.</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie and worry… They just didn’t seem to go well with each other.</p><p> </p><p>And yet…</p><p> </p><p>“Well, don’t be so surprised.” Chuckling, Yuri-unnie gently patted on her tensed shoulders. “I’m not a god, it’s normal for me to be worried, right? Besides…”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes now fixed on Minji-sunbaenim.</p><p> </p><p>“Being worried or not, they’re doing quite well, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s focus went back to the stage. To the play.</p><p> </p><p>A bunch of famous detective, crime novelist, criminal profiler, crime reporter, forensic pathologist, and crime scene investigator, all invited to this absurd competition on an abandon island hiding a shocking secret, which had been remaining an unsolvable puzzle to the public for years.</p><p> </p><p>Cliché, sure. Typical motif, yes. But it was interesting. The youngest didn’t even deny that she herself would just jump straight ahead on the boat, come there, and give it a try just to figure out what secret laid underneath this luxurious manor, on an island no one would supposedly have wanted to come. Puzzles to her was a kind of perfect bait, so yes, she could relate to why those characters decided to join this game, despite the fact that this game was nothing but a cover for a scheme underneath.</p><p> </p><p>A few boring scenes had passed. Greetings, getting to know each other (or not), mocking banters, and obviously, a few scenes showing someone knew better than the others… Which left those the others, audiences included, heaps of question marks, and a massive uncertainty. What had happened? What was hidden beneath? What would happen? There must be something bad, of course, but when?</p><p> </p><p>Or something like that.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t help but scoffing. Really, how irony. The atmosphere of this play was pretty similar to what was actually happening here in reality.</p><p> </p><p>So far, everything was good. Like nothing could go wrong, but everybody knew. It was a plausible lie. A perfect illusion, using sweetness to overshadow the ugly hidden truth behind.</p><p> </p><p>Something <em>must</em> happen.</p><p> </p><p>The younger looked around. She wished she could detect something suspicious, but of course, failed.</p><p> </p><p>The audiences were enjoying the play. No one seemed abnormal enough to get a hold of her gaze for more than two seconds. The play went well. The background music was on point. The lighting was perfect.</p><p> </p><p>And Yoohyeon’s finger was still tapping on the control board. Constantly, and uncontrollably.</p><p> </p><p>She did try to remain calm in the beginning, but eventually, she gave up. It was impossible. Not so many possible scenarios, which Yuri-unnie and her team had checked and tried to prevent them from happening, but, yeah…</p><p> </p><p>That fact kind of made her feel… nervous?</p><p> </p><p>The lighting system was perfectly safe this time. So were the props. And bags of anyone allowed to be in the backstage, which were performing clubs’ members, with the only two exceptions being Jeon Jiwoo and herself, and some of the supervising teachers of each club, had been carefully checked.</p><p> </p><p>And the tall girl couldn’t think of any other possibilities.</p><p> </p><p>Now she kind of understood what Yuri-unnie meant by questioning herself again and again and again.</p><p> </p><p>Was all of this enough?</p><p> </p><p>She wanted to say yes. For God’s sake, she really wanted to, but…</p><p> </p><p><em>No… </em>It said, in the back of her head. <em>I’ll never be enough…</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>She let out a small grunt. This stupid pessimistic part of her… Why couldn’t it just get away and give her some peace? But it wasn’t completely its fault, if she had to be fair. It was her, after all, and well, this kind of situation wasn’t gonna give anybody any peace.</p><p> </p><p>And somehow, the feeling when she got to the theatre ceiling came back all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>The uncertainty. The vulnerability of being exposed. Of not knowing what could happen. Of not knowing when. Of waiting forever for a danger she knew too well that was there, but had no idea when it would come.</p><p> </p><p>This kind of normality was just slowly torturing all her nerves inside.</p><p> </p><p>The audience’s gasp pulled her back to reality.</p><p> </p><p>Well, she took a deep breath. At least the first incident they’d been waiting for had finally come.</p><p> </p><p>An announcement from the island owner in a cassette tape.</p><p> </p><p>An official start of the game.</p><p> </p><p>With the sudden death of Seungyeon’s role. Lee Eunji, the crime reporter. Poisoned. Right on the dining table. Right in front of their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Okay… Yoohyeon’s eyes kept on scanning.</p><p> </p><p>The audiences’ awaited death was here…</p><p> </p><p>When would hers be then?</p><p>------------------------------------------------------</p><p>They had a look around.</p><p> </p><p>The police were, indeed, professional. But sometimes, professionalism meant predictable, and predictability was something they could only wish for at this precious moment.</p><p> </p><p>Their gaze shifted to the second sinner. Such a good actor, they had to admit. His smile was playful, yet gentle. The gallantness behind his hot-head attitude. The overflowing care for other’s feelings and emotions. His self-righteousness was very well portraited under a sloven façade.</p><p> </p><p>Too good.</p><p> </p><p>Even they wouldn’t have imagined, if they hadn’t known…</p><p> </p><p>They suppressed a wince. That wrench of pain never lessened. If anything, it just kept inflating, occupying their throat, stabbing in their chest, cutting out a part of their soul, and leaving behind a huge hole that no efforts could ever fill up.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Singnie…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Her smile’d never faded. Her voice’d never left. Her kiss’d never gone.</p><p> </p><p>They were imprinted in their mind and body, forever.</p><p> </p><p>But they only existed in their memory. Not reality, no.</p><p> </p><p>Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>Thanks to <em>him.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Their gaze returned to Lee Hongbin. It was so hard to hold this wrath boiling under their skin when seeing this masked face, but…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Patient…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>They had been patient for months. Thirty minutes weren’t worth for them to ruin everything at the moment.</p><p> </p><p>Their facial muscles relaxed.</p><p> </p><p>Hongbin, Hongbin… Oh, their dear sinner…</p><p> </p><p>They had warned him, hadn’t they?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Conceal yourself well…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Unfortunately…</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t.</p><p> </p><p>So… yes…</p><p> </p><p>They smiled, shifted their focus to a particular place.</p><p> </p><p>Those unexpected muscular arms. Those appeared to be soft, but strong as hell hands.</p><p> </p><p>Then, the corner of their eyes caught it. The familiar face of that police officer in suit. And her younger sister, too. Nervous. Tensed. Uncertain. And lost, if they hadn’t been wrong.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Ah… You must be waiting for this, right?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>They could hear the “Yes.” silently screamed in those two brains of theirs.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Patient… Just a little bit more…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The audience gasped, and came another applause.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Youngjo’s role, the criminal profiler was dead.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone was excited, except those two staying behind the curtain. Their faces were unfaltering.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, they had to be unfaltering.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Appetizer is served. And I promise…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The stage light was dimmed, and everything was swallowed by the familiar darkness.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Main course won’t be too far away.</em>
</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yoohyeon hated this.</p><p> </p><p>Her hand was automatically operating the control board, but it couldn’t totally distract her mind from thinking too much. And it wasn’t even good thoughts, to be honest. Most of them were so vague that she couldn’t even know what the heck her mind was fussing about.</p><p> </p><p>The only thing she knew was her nerves were on the verge of being exploded.</p><p> </p><p>This endless waiting seemed to be too much for her to handle.</p><p> </p><p>Now, despite the background music, the spoken dialogues, and the sound of props being moved after each and every scene, her ears still buzzed. And the buzzing just kept being worse and worse, to the point that she thought she really should visit an otolaryngologist for a quick check after all of this was over.</p><p> </p><p>Her finger twitched. Oh great, maybe a neurologist? Or a cardiologist wouldn’t be a bad idea at this moment, too…</p><p> </p><p>Her heart was beating faster. The play was coming to an end, and it took her every single ounce of effort she had just to stay still.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Yes…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>On the stage, Hongbin looked down, sadness invaded his clear eyes when his jaws tightened. As if he was struggling, hard, wondering if he should reveal the unexpected truth of the case or not.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“A cunning, wicked murderer, indeed…”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon bit her lower lips in irritation. Could this be anymore irony? How could a play be so similar to her current situation in real life like this?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“That’s right…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>His gaze scanned around the room, slightly hesitated, before…</p><p> </p><p><em>“The culprit is here…” </em>Together with Yoohyeon, muttering under her breath, he determinedly announced. <em>“… Right.among.us.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Of course you are…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes kept scanning every single face she could reach.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Come on…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Even the theatre club members standing on the same stage as Lee Hongbin.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I know you won’t give up just because my unnie’s here…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She pressed her lips, white and thin.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>So where are you now?</em>
</p><p>------------------------------------------------</p><p><em>“But… How?” </em>Yujin stuttered, seemed to be totally lost after a part the truth had been revealed. <em>“If their time of death has been wrong, then…”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>A moment of realisation. It didn’t take much for everybody to stare at the forensic pathologist starred by no one else but Kim Minji.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“… Jiu-ssi?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>They hummed in amusement. The shock and disbelief on those faces were enjoyable, indeed. But they wouldn’t blame them.</p><p> </p><p>It was something shock-worthy.</p><p> </p><p>No matter if it was in a play setting or in real life, the sweet, gentle, and caring Kim Jiu didn’t really appear to match with the cruelty and cold-bloodiness they’d witnessed from the murderer self-naming as The Geek, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>But not that those supposed to be two had nothing in common.</p><p> </p><p>The calmness. The intelligence. The fearlessness.</p><p> </p><p>And the ability to hide the rage burning in their veins.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, totally relatable.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Oops…” </em>Innocently, Kim Minji’s head tilted, lips painted out a breath-takingly beautiful and gentle smile with a pair of emotionless eyes. <em>“You got me right there, Kang Sir…”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Hongbin winced. Oh, they can see it, a little bit too dramatic, even. A visible pain was good, but too visible…</p><p> </p><p>Apparently, his acting skill was still lacking a bit, and that wasn’t the point.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p><em>“Why?” </em>Was his next question.</p><p> </p><p>The old wound in their chest was torn apart.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah… Why, Hongbin? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Why did you kill them, Jiu?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Why?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“What have they done to deserve to die?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The familiar wrath burst inside their chest, and spread to every corner of their body.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Have you ever asked yourself that question?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The roaring flame was so powerful, to the point that they didn’t really focus on how the play was going on. Confession of The Geek’s fictional past seemed far away. The line and dialogues appeared to stay out of their head. Faces of those supporting actors and actresses became a massive blur that their brain just simply refused to register.</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing left in them.</p><p> </p><p>Nothing, except an overwhelming desire to stab a knife into this sinner’s chest. Slowly, deeply, painfully, with a nice twist.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p><em>“I shouldn’t underestimate you this much…” </em>Smiling, Kim Minji slowly whispered. <em>“Inviting you here is the biggest gamble I’ve ever made in my entire life, you know, Kang Sir?”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>It wouldn’t be a possible option this time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“And… I lost… I really wish you weren’t an obstacle, Kang Sir. I wish I wouldn’t have to do this, too, but…” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Those soft yet strong as hell hands gently caressed the jewellery carved on the handle of the decorative knife.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I have to finish what I started.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yes…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Grab it…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Holding the knife firmly in hand, Kim Minji stared at Oh Seunghee, fiercely enough to actually make the girl step back in terror. Was she acting? Or was she actually scared? They didn’t know, but it didn’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Grab it. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The only thing mattered now was…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Grab it, now!</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>The dimmed red light reflected by the stone quickly flashed on Kim Minji’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yes… Now… Stab him.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kill that sinner.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>And pay for your ignorance, Kim Minji…</em>
</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>Abnormality detected.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s heart jumped straight to her throat when her eyes caught the image of Handong standing up all of a sudden, dread written all across her elegant face.</p><p> </p><p>Which spread to her nape, her spine, her whole body in a matter of seconds, when she looked at where the Chinese was staring at. Beams of light, reflected by the jewel glued onto the hilt of the retractable prop knife.</p><p> </p><p>Or a supposed to be the retractable prop knife.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit!”</p><p> </p><p>The knife, currently, firmly laid in Minji-sunbaenim’s hands. Plunged at Seunghee with all the strength she had. Only to be stopped by the bare hands and body of no one else but the possible second victim of the Full Moon Killer.</p><p> </p><p>Lee Hongbin.</p><p> </p><p>“Sunbae, no!”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon didn’t even think. It was purely reaction. She nearly wasted no time to rush out of her seat, and ran towards the stage, as fast as her legs could carry.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>A small ‘Thud’ of the blade pushed through human flesh reached her eardrums. Ruthlessly cut her stupidly tensed nerves into hundreds of pieces.</p><p> </p><p>Followed by a painful groan of the victim.</p><p> </p><p>What happened next was like a slow-motion scene to Yoohyeon’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Where Lee Hongbin’s shirt was steadily dyed by his own blood, like a flower, <em>blooming</em> to the fullest. Where his back bent down a little, hands tried to cover the newly dug hole in his chest. Where his huge body slowly collapsed to the floor, right under her feet, causing a louder ‘thud’ crashing the unexpected silence covering the whole auditorium.</p><p> </p><p>Where his figure revealed Minji-sunbaenim’s beautiful face, drown in shock and horror. Where Hongbin’s blood had dyed her dress and hands in an unmistakable red shade. The elder couldn’t blink. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t do anything, not even believe in what she’d just witnessed.</p><p> </p><p>Or done.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s mind slid straight into pure panic. <em>No shit, you can’t fucking die here. </em>She tried to flip him up. <em>No, please, no… </em></p><p> </p><p>She’d never prayed that much, ever.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, what she saw…</p><p> </p><p>The panic in her kept snowballing, uncontrollably.</p><p> </p><p>His body slightly twitched, in terror, and in pain. He couldn't even cough out the blood starting to clot in his throat. The knife was tearing his chest apart, and still arrogantly standing on his trained muscles. And the blood…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s hands started to shake, too.</p><p> </p><p>The blood oozing out of it was no longer red, no.</p><p> </p><p>It had turned into a weird spine-shivering black shade she had never witnessed in her entire life.</p><p> </p><p><em>No… You can’t die… Not in </em>her<em> hand, please…</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>What could she even do now? Covering his jab? Right, she must stop the bleeding. She couldn’t let him die here. She couldn’t…</p><p> </p><p>“Stand back.” Yuri-unnie grabbed the collar of her shirt and threw her out, while the officer was squatting down to have a better check. “Irene, when will the ambulance arrive?” She asked, urgence, frustration, helplessness and hopelessness were hidden under her serious voice tone.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s eyes shifted back and forth, on Hongbin twitching body, to Minji-sunbaenim’s frightened frozen frame in the middle of the stage.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Ten minutes, Madam…” The mentioned officer reluctantly replied. “I’m afraid…”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No no no no no no no… No God, please, no.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hongbin’s body had stopped twitching.</p><p> </p><p>“Call the CSI and ME, secure all the gates.”</p><p> </p><p>A helpless sigh coming from Yuri-unnie’s chest had mercilessly crashed her final fragile ray of hope.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“He’s dead.”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking her head in disappointment, the elder glanced at her watch, then monotonously announced.</p><p> </p><p> “Four forty-four p.m. Tell them to be quick. We’ve got a murder situation here.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... *drum roll* Congratulation, @holdmymilktea, you've guessed correctly what happened since... I think since chapter 8 or something? 🤔 Forgive me, my memory is really really bad, so if I'm wrong... Well, then I'm wrong 😂 No price or gift for you, unfortunately 😂</p><p>Anyway... </p><p>Minji, Minji, Minji! 😭 Oh my own heart... 😭 Am I torturing myself or what? 😭</p><p>What would happen to Minji? What would Yoohyeon do? How about Bora, Jiwoo, and our gang Gahdadong? </p><p>At this rate, I think I'll have about 5 chapters left until our ride is over. But don't believe in that figure too much 😂 I'm terrible at calculating my chapter length, and it haven't improved since forever, so... Just for reference to know that we're entering the end of the road (I really don't know if I should cry or laugh or both here)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. "Paradise... Lost?"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gahyeon, let's get back to work!</p><p>Reveal the truth behind the infamous song.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I believe I have a pretty long break~ Well, I'm not gonna rant anymore, besides thanking you all for your supports! I was really moved by every comment you guys sent to me, it keeps me going on, heading full speed to the ending I crafted in my head. And just to remind my subscribers of this fic: I'm gonna change the rating of the fic, as well as add title to each chapter, so my apology if your emails are flooded because of notifications on this one 😭</p><p>Oh, I also forgot this: A friendly reminder that 'They' in this fic just means I don't wanna reveal character's identity for some reasons. 'They' might be writing about the culprit, or someone not the culprit, or someone just involved a little here, so be careful for that 😚</p><p>And enjoy this ride, folks~ The longest ride since the beginning of the fic, if I'm not wrong 😂</p><p>A little bit of side notes: There will be graphic depiction of death, and I personally think it's a pretty serious one. It lies in the last part of this chapter, and please ignore it if you might feel uncomfortable with it. I apologise in advance if what I wrote hurt you and your feelings, and please inform me if you think I should tone it down or remove it. Thank you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoohyeon had had a few horrible days.</p><p> </p><p>Like when she’d gotten in a serious accident on her first time riding a bicycle, given Taeyeon-unnie a good heart attack, and ended up being hospitalised for a whole week long. Or when she’d almost dropped a bottle of sodium hydroxide, nearly got banned from the school laboratory for good, and her education might end at the secondary level only.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Like the day Lee Siyeon had been found dead. Or more precisely, the day she’d seen Gahyeon breaking down in front of her eyes without being able to do anything about it.</p><p> </p><p>Or a month ago. When she herself had witnessed Kim Chanmi dying, again, in front of her eyes, and she could do nothing, <em>again</em>, to stop it.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, a lot. But now, comparing those days to today…</p><p> </p><p>It seemed like those days were vague. So vague that she couldn’t even explain why she’d felt so bad at that time. Maybe time did make her forget. Maybe feelings were really temporary.</p><p> </p><p>Or maybe it was simply because today was the worst day she had ever been through, and that wasn’t an exaggeration, not for one bit.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes focused on the exact same point on the school yard. There was no point in moving it to observe something else, especially if no matter where she was looking at, what her brain could receive was only two images, being repeatedly played like a broken video, over and over and over again.</p><p> </p><p>How Lee Hongbin had died at… how far was it? Ten metres? Eleven metres? Away from her.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever, that didn’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>He was dead. Her failure didn’t matter. Her helplessness and resentment mattered even less.</p><p> </p><p>Crossing her arms, Yoohyeon lowered her eyes, and took a deep breath.</p><p> </p><p>How strange.</p><p> </p><p>Different from what’d come to her when seeing Chanmi’s death, she was surprisingly calm this time.</p><p> </p><p>So calm that despite the blood rushing through her ears, the smell of Hongbin’s blood lingering in her brain, or her own heart quickening in her ribcage, she was still able to think pretty clearly of what’d happened.</p><p> </p><p>Not that she believed she had done everything she could to actually move on. Not that she’d gotten used to seeing people dying in front of her. It was far from it, if she had to be honest, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey…”</p><p> </p><p>She slightly turned around, just enough to catch the familiar worrying look on Yuri-unnie’s face. There was a long pause when her unnie evaluating eyes landed at her, then came a frown as if she couldn’t quite get what Yoohyeon was thinking about, before asking it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>“How are you?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger thought about it for a moment. “To be honest?” She slowly shook her head. “I don’t really know.”</p><p> </p><p>Another pause when neither she nor her unnie knew what to say next, but it was briefer. If anything, the tall girl couldn’t really stand this suffocating air. Between her and someone else? She might reluctantly endure it. But between her and Yuri-unnie? Simply unendurable, that was all.</p><p> </p><p>“Have you done with the interrogation?”</p><p> </p><p>“Far from it.” Her unnie stepped forward to stand next to her. “Even if we narrowed it down, there’re still too many people passing by that waiting room from noon onwards…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon nodded. She hadn’t been there in the first place, but there was only one waiting room. The number of people staying in that confined space was way greater than the number of rooms, unfortunately. Orchestra club, vocal club, dance club, theatre club, not to mention teachers supervising those clubs as well.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>“That’s when you guys last checked the props?”</p><p> </p><p>The elder nodded. It was obvious that she was regretting checking them too soon, but the younger couldn’t blame her for that. It was hard to constantly check and control everything. Yuri-unnie’s team only had the authority to secure this area since, when was that? A day? Two days, maximum, so yeah, bringing the murder weapon into this hall before that was just a piece of cake. Bags checking… It was more like a mental guarantee, rather than a really effective way to stop that bastard.</p><p> </p><p>And rationally speaking, the police hadn’t had enough personnel. Securing all gates, repeatedly checking the audiences, following potential victims, those were just a few tasks she could think of. The small tip of the iceberg, if she had to admit, and realistically, they would need more people to perfectly execute all aspects of the plan her unnie had come up with.</p><p> </p><p>Too many scenarios. And yet, it was still not enough.</p><p> </p><p>How funny…</p><p> </p><p>But could she really blame them? Even in her dream, she would never have thought that this guy, this Full Moon Killer, could actually give up on a chance to kill his sinner by his own hands like that. It might be the police’s and her own fault, but…</p><p> </p><p>Even though it sounded like an excuse… Even until now, to Yoohyeon’s dismay, that fact still seemed… hard to believe, especially if his motive was really rooted from Lee Siyeon’s unexpected suicide. Didn’t he want to do it all by himself? Or he just prioritised his sinners being dead without caring about the killing method? Then why risking cutting the cable in front of hundred pairs of eyes? Why choosing such a noisy method, if he didn’t really care right in the first place?</p><p> </p><p>Or…</p><p> </p><p>What if he needed to lay low? What if a gambler like him couldn’t take this kind of risk this time, because he needed to secure an even bigger win next? If that was true… Then when would be the next game of his? Who would be the next sinner? Who would they need to protect now?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Saving everyone is just a pipe dream, Yoo…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>How irony. So irony, that Yoohyeon almost let out a sneer. What Yubin’d said was right, and even though she couldn’t quite get it in the first time listening to it, she had finally understood it now. But they didn’t actually want to save everyone. They just wanted to save one person.</p><p> </p><p>And yet, they failed. Another utter defeat.</p><p> </p><p>And, oh, yes, ignored that claim, ‘cause she was obviously understating the fact here.</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl’s fists clenched more tightly at the thought.</p><p> </p><p>How could she forget that? It wasn’t just an utter defeat, no.</p><p> </p><p>The image of Minji-sunbaenim flashed through her brain. Her shock. Her confusion. Her fear. Her resentment. Her regret.</p><p> </p><p>How her white dress was dyed in Hongbin’s blood, just like how her soul was poisoned by this memory.</p><p> </p><p>The memory of her killing someone else. Unintentionally, yes, but it didn’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>Nothing could change the fact that Lee Hongbin was dead under her hand.</p><p> </p><p>And unfortunately, she, the girl Yoohyeon cherished the most, understood it a little bit too well.</p><p> </p><p>Gritting her teeth, the younger had to muster all efforts she had to suppress a snigger. She didn’t lose just one person, did she?</p><p> </p><p>“Have you talked to her, unnie?”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was so quiet. And monotonous. Sounded strange to her own ears, but she couldn’t care about that. She knew Yuri-unnie was worried, too. That look was familiar enough for her to notice, but she could care even less.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s not in a very good mental state.” Her unnie nodded. “… even though she was hanging in there quite well. Better than I expect, to be honest…” Before letting out a heavy sigh. “But… yeah. Things aren’t in her favour, I’m afraid…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon remained silent for a few seconds. It would be a miracle if things were in her favour right now. She knew it. She totally understood. But she also knew that…</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not her.”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking her head, she firmly said, her balled fists loosened up, only to squeeze the window frame instead.</p><p> </p><p>“The play is not confidential. Any of them could have known Hongbin would jump in between her and Seunghee to take that knife instead. The script is officially confirmed. There was no amendment. The bastard must have known it. Clearly. That’s why he swapped the knives, and let her do the dirty job for him…”</p><p> </p><p>The officer neither agreed nor disagreed. She just remained silence, but not that she needed her to say anything now. Meeting her abnormally solemn eyes, the younger continued.</p><p> </p><p>“And you found the prop knife in the waiting room too, didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie nodded after a sigh. At least, it saved some time and effort for Yoohyeon from unnecessary further explaining why. The prop knife was made with similar weight to a real one. Even the hilt was detailly decorated, just to give performer the same feeling as if they were holding a real knife.</p><p> </p><p>All for the sake of the act’s veracity.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Seungyeon is here to make sure everything looks artistic, but we amateurs can sometimes be… too dramatic with our movements. The more alike between a prop knife and a real knife, the better. Holding, swinging, thrusting will look… less fake that way…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She still remembered it. What Yonghoon-sunbaenim was telling her when she’d dropped that fucking prop knife for the first time. When she’d asked him why a prop needed to look and feel so real. And she had to admit that he’d done a really good job.</p><p> </p><p>Too good, if she could say so.</p><p> </p><p>A snigger finally managed to escape from her throat. What a joke. Not a funny one, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“At least the bastard made a big mistake, though…”</p><p> </p><p>“You mean the jewel ornament on the hilt of the real knife?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon nodded. Yuri-unnie must have talked to someone from the theatre club, too.</p><p> </p><p>“Reflective items are not allowed on stage.” Lowering her eyes, she quietly continued, her voice sounded weirdly like a recording tape. “They’ll affect the lighting system and audiences’ experiences. Everyone in the theatre club knows that. He doesn’t. That’s why it’s there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo…”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re looking for someone allowed to get into the backstage. Right-handed. Someone knowing the play plot, but doesn’t belong to the theatre club…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo…”</p><p> </p><p>“I haven’t forgotten that he might be one of them, and he did that on purpose to mislead us, but then he would have to sacrifice the certainty of his plan, too. Anyone could have noticed the knives had been switched if the reflecting angle was dead on. Like how Dongie…”</p><p> </p><p>The younger couldn’t finish. This big fat lump was starting to be familiar with her, but she still hadn’t gotten used to it. Her voice was choked, and her knuckles squeezing the window frame turned white.</p><p> </p><p>Right… Just like how Dongie and she had noticed.</p><p> </p><p>Two fucking seconds too late.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo…”</p><p> </p><p>She turned around. Her train of thought was cut off by her unnie’s call. It was sad. Her voice, she meant. And… reluctant. Like she had no idea where to start.</p><p> </p><p>Like she had no idea what to say.</p><p> </p><p>“I get what you’re talking about. It’s just…” The elder let out another heavy sigh, as if she had decided to tell her the truth instead of giving her some plausible vain hopes. “It doesn’t change anything for now. It’s obvious that she killed someone, in front of a lot of cameras. Your school won’t be able to hide it anymore, and nobody’s gonna care if that was unintentional or not.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon thought about it for a few seconds, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Can I see her?”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie seemed surprised, and she wouldn’t blame her though. Just like the moment after all the shock and panic had gone, she was calm. Too calm. Her thoughts had never been clearer. It was strange, yes. She couldn’t understand it herself, true.</p><p> </p><p>But if that could help her think, then she wouldn’t even bother to complain about it.</p><p> </p><p>“Please?”</p><p> </p><p>There was a very long moment of silence. She knew asking this was way too much. It was against the law for a civilian like her to meet an unbailable primary suspect of a murder case, and it might cause a lot of unnecessary troubles for her unnie, but…</p><p> </p><p>She needed this.</p><p> </p><p>She needed to see her. She knew Minji-sunbaenim would be anything but fine, and there was nothing she could do to make her feel better. Seeing her was useless, too, because it wouldn’t change any shit, but…</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t hold herself back. There was this unstoppable urge, so fierce that she couldn’t either reason or ignore it. She needed this. It was something she had to do.</p><p> </p><p>The two of them locked eyes with each other. There was something flickering in Yuri-unnie’s eyes, but the younger couldn’t quite get it. Not that she wanted to, anyway. The only thing she could do right now was waiting for her answer, which came seconds later, after a heavy sigh of defeat.</p><p> </p><p>“Just from the outside, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Weakly cracking out a smile, she nodded. “Thanks, unnie.”</p><p> </p><p>The officer patted on her shoulder as a silent ok, before leading the way. It wasn’t too far from where they were standing, but it felt long enough. Especially when none of them really wanted to say something to break this dense, thick air around.</p><p> </p><p>And when they arrived…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was frozen to her spot.</p><p> </p><p>Did someone just suck all the air out of her lungs? Or otherwise… Why did it feel so hard to just fucking breathe?</p><p> </p><p>The elder was sitting in a classroom. They had temporarily borrowed one to use it for interrogation purpose. It was spacious, yes. The kind of vastness which mercilessly swallowed her slender frame, and to be honest, she had no idea which was worse: a stuffy and windowless one like she’d seen on TV, or this.</p><p> </p><p>And of course, the younger couldn’t miss it. That pair of handcuffs that she sometimes stole from her unnie just to play with. Heavy, strong, now firmly locked Minji-sunbaenim’s hands together.</p><p> </p><p>But that wasn’t the worst.</p><p> </p><p>The girl hadn’t changed her clothes. Her lonely frame was still covered by that blood-stained white dress. And, how ironic was it, if she looked even more breath-taking in this kind of situation?</p><p> </p><p>Or… maybe it was breath-taking, because… Yoohyeon couldn’t help but noticing.</p><p> </p><p>All the purity she’d sensed from the elder, all the light glinting in her once sparkling eyes were nowhere to be seen.</p><p> </p><p>Tainted, by the human blood on her dress. Crushed, by what had happened. Destroyed, by the cruelty of some random person granting himself the right to decide whether someone was live-worthy or not.</p><p> </p><p>Gone, forever, left a fucking big hole that Yoohyeon had completely no idea how to fill up in her chest.</p><p> </p><p>The younger stepped a little bit closer to the window. Maybe she wasn’t very quiet. Or maybe Minji-sunbaenim could sense her presence here. The elder slowly raised her head in incredulity, and after a few seconds of collecting herself, her lips weakly curled up.</p><p> </p><p>Painted out one of the most beautiful reassuring smiles she had ever witnessed.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon had to suppress the urge to break this window into million pieces.</p><p> </p><p>She had never been stabbed before, but she wasn’t too sure if this feeling in her chest was much different from actually receiving a jab.</p><p> </p><p>Minji… Her Minji…</p><p> </p><p>She was smiling, but the smile couldn’t even reach halfway to her normally crescent eyesmile, now containing nothing but exhaustion and all the tears she was trying so hard to hold in.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Just by looking at her eyes, and the tall girl already knew it.</p><p> </p><p>She had seen her being tired. She had seen her being weak.</p><p> </p><p>She had never seen her being that <em>broken</em> before.</p><p> </p><p>Like a tough pane of glass, started from a small crack, then slowly crumbled against that brutal weight of guilt, before helplessly shattering into million pieces.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s jaws tightened.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe that was why she was so calm.</p><p> </p><p>Panic? Resent? Shock? Terror? Frustrated? Lamented? Helpless? Sure, she felt all of those, mixing together like a big storm swirling inside her chest.</p><p> </p><p>But they were nothing.</p><p> </p><p>Comparing to what she felt now when seeing her like this? Comparing to what her Minji was feeling right now?</p><p> </p><p>They weren’t even worth mentioning.</p><p> </p><p>The younger took another deep breath, her gaze found them again. Those beautiful eyes… where the once clarity was now tainted. Dull, helpless, despair.</p><p> </p><p>Totally lost.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s fists clenched, nails deeply dug into her palm flesh.</p><p> </p><p>She was still calm. Abnormally.calm. But she could also feel it.</p><p> </p><p>Under the lid of calmness. Running through her vein. Spreading to her body. Beaming in her eyes. Burning in her chest.</p><p> </p><p>Rage.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s tough. And strong…” Yuri-unnie’s voice seemed to come from somewhere further than the reality Yoohyeon was in. “But… I hope because it’s her, my higher-ups will give me some more time to see what we can find, or else…”</p><p> </p><p>“Then it simplifies everything.”</p><p> </p><p>Fixing her eyes onto Minji-sunbaenim’s, the younger intervened, a string of determination stubbornly flashed through her face.</p><p> </p><p>She’d made her mind. This wasn’t about her. Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“I just need to get to him before any of those idiots decide to blame it all on her, don’t I?”</p><p> </p><p>And it was weird. She’d never seen him. She’d never met him.</p><p> </p><p>But she could sense his arrogant, yet ruthless laughter from somewhere in the dark.</p><p> </p><p>“The Full Moon Killer, is he?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon clenched her jaws. There was no way in hell she would forgive this bastard. There was no way in hell she would let him get away with what he had done.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s see who’s the coward hiding behind that mask.”</p><p> </p><p>And left.</p><p> </p><p>Without noticing the figure following them, which had vanished behind the corner of a T-junction, not too far from where they’d stood, only a second before she turned around.</p><p>------------------------------------------------</p><p>Handong was still shock.</p><p> </p><p>Of course, knowing more information just simply meant that her hunch would work even more effectively than normal time. Just like Yubin, Gahyeon, and of course, Yoohyeon, too, she had expected something bad to happen during this stupid talent show of the infamous Spring Festival at Jung Dok High.</p><p> </p><p>All the uneasiness, edginess, and restlessness just confirmed what they had thought.</p><p> </p><p>She just didn’t expect things to be <em>that </em>bad.</p><p> </p><p>The surprise when the light reflected by that ornament on the hilt of the prop knife reached her eyes. The dread came right after she understood what that meant. And the horror when she’d witnessed Minji-unnie stabbing Lee Hongbin in front of hundreds of people presenting in that spacious auditorium.</p><p> </p><p>She had reacted immediately. In the corner of her eyes, she had seen Yoohyeon had also reacted immediately.</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t mean they’d made it in time.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, Lee Hongbin was still dead, and really, if it’d been just that, then maybe she wouldn’t have suffered from this… nauseously useless feeling about herself. Like, ok, she had noticed, so what? It didn’t change the fact that she could only stare at what’d happened, no matter how much she wanted to save Minji-unnie from all of… this.</p><p> </p><p>She suppressed the desire to bury her face into her hands. Or grunt. Or do anything could make her friends even more worried than they already had.</p><p> </p><p>The warmth radiating from Yubin and Gahyeon, who were sitting next to her, shoulder by shoulder, and the fact that both of them didn’t spout out any empty reassuring words did lift her currently down mood up a little bit. But if she could be totally honest, it was like a double-edge knife. Sure, she was lucky enough to have her friends here, supporting her unconditionally, but…</p><p> </p><p>What about Minji-unnie? And Yoohyeon, who’d been disappearing since the police investigation team arrived?</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese had to suppress another sigh for the nth time.</p><p> </p><p>And… Damn it. The tall girl’s message asking where they were didn’t help much.</p><p> </p><p>Handong still remembered how deeply her eyebrows had furrowed, but really, she couldn’t hold it in. That message made her feel… uneasy. Scared, even, and it was weird. Sure, of course she’d been relief that the girl was on her way here, and she would finally have a chance to check up on her, but…</p><p> </p><p>There was something… off.</p><p> </p><p>Her tone was kind of… cold? And… How should she put it? Assertive, maybe?</p><p> </p><p>She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure if the word was correct, let alone knowing why. Or what.</p><p> </p><p>But it wasn’t Yoohyeon-y, that she could be sure of.</p><p> </p><p>Anyway, the Chinese bit her lower lip. She couldn’t blame her for being weird. With what was going on right now to Minji-unnie? It would be a miracle if the tall girl could act normally.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey…”</p><p> </p><p>The weight on her left shoulder was heaved up, when Gahyeon straightened her back, and threw an incredulous look to their newly arriving friend. None of them could crack out a smile, even if it was just to encourage the tallest after what she’d been through in the last couple of hours. Her familiar face seemed pale. Composed. Calm. Unreadable. Expressionless.</p><p> </p><p>And strangely cold.</p><p> </p><p>Like she had turned into a completely different person. Was that even possible? It was just a few hundreds of minutes, for God’s sake…</p><p> </p><p>“Jesus… Come here…” Not wasting any other minute, the youngest pulled her in for an embrace, then exclaimed on their behalf. “You look like shit… I can’t fucking believe it…”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, Gahyeonie.” Nodding without returning her hug, Yoohyeon bluntly admitted before letting out a small chuckle. “If you’re really hugging me, then I guess I <em>do</em> look like shit.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong frowned in doubt, and she wasn’t the only one reacting like that. Locking eyes with Yubin, and she immediately knew it. They were both sharing the exact same worry.</p><p> </p><p>“For the record, I did hug you once or twice when you weren’t <em>this </em>fucked up.” Gahyeon faked a frustrated eye-roll, and her hug didn’t loosen up. Even her voice was abnormally soft, too. “But I’ll let you slip away this time, dumbass. How are you feeling?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon hesitated for a brief second. “No idea…” Then she sighed when seeing the Chinese’s concerned gaze before slightly patting the youngest’s back. “But better than Minji-sunbaenim though, so don’t worry. I’m not done yet. Still hanging in there.”</p><p> </p><p>That sounded neither convincing nor encouraging, unfortunately. But at least, Handong couldn’t see any lies in her words. And at least, with a weak grin, it felt… more like her old self again? Not a hundred percent. Far from it, even, but… yeah…</p><p> </p><p>Something was better than nothing, right?</p><p> </p><p>“So… That bad, huh?” Letting out a heavy sigh, Yubin slowly shook her head. “I’ve never even seen Minji-unnie losing her calmness before, so I kinda figured, but…” Concernedly looking at Yoohyeon, she asked in uncertainty. “Are you sure you’re alright?”</p><p> </p><p>The tallest pulled herself from Gahyeon’s hug, and the Chinese could be pretty sure that alright was, seriously, anything but what she was feeling right now.</p><p> </p><p>And Yoohyeon just simply nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll pull through.”</p><p> </p><p>So that was a no, Handong reckoned. To be honest, she did want to tell her just take a rest first. Or do something else to ease the tension she was bearing, but…</p><p> </p><p>Her nod was too firm. And full of determination. And really, what was she hoping for? If they couldn’t stop her from sticking her nose in this case in the beginning, how could they stop her now, when Minji-unnie had been dragged into this mess?</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese’s eyes found Gahyeon’s and Yubin’s, and they all agreed without saying any word. If that was what their friend chose, then other than keeping her from doing something stupidly reckless, and helping her out, they didn’t really have many choices left.</p><p> </p><p>Not very diverse and appealing, if she could admit, but…</p><p> </p><p>Handong sighed in defeat. “You got any plan then?”</p><p> </p><p>She’d expected a headshake. And Yoohyeon nodded, again.</p><p> </p><p>“Right…” Yubin licked her dry lips. “Anything we can do?”</p><p> </p><p>Another nod came.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Arching her eyebrow, the Chinese’s eyes slowly widened; that bad feeling continued to snowball in her chest. The way the tallest was looking at her… The way she shifted her gaze toward Yubin, as if she was asking for their permission… Then the way she fixed her eyes on Gahyeon like a wordless plead…</p><p> </p><p>Oh… Shoot.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo…” Grabbing her thin wrist, the short haired shook her head in warning. “Don’t… She’s not ready for it…”</p><p> </p><p>That just helped the youngest to be sure of what favour Yoohyeon was about to ask from her. Which froze her facial expression in a single heartbeat, and Handong couldn’t really look at her eyes without feeling this familiar hint of lament in her chest. There was this weird mixture of pain and regret, of remorse and sorrow, and another glint she couldn’t quite gasp at, nesting in the bottom of Gahyeon’s eyes, longing for this exact moment to escape. And really, her reaction might seem a little bit excessive, but the Chinese could never blame her for that.</p><p> </p><p>Of course she knew Gahyeon was getting better, but back to the hacking business, starting from Lee Siyeon, all over again?</p><p> </p><p>Yubin had at least a dozen of reasons to be concerned about.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it’s a lot to ask for.” The tallest slowly started, her gape never left Gahyeon’s confused brown eyes. “And trust me, if I can do it all by myself, I’ll never dare asking you to come back to it. I know it hurts, and hurting you is the last thing I wanna do.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest didn’t say anything. Maybe she didn’t want to say anything. Or maybe she just didn’t know what to say.</p><p> </p><p>So Yoohyeon continued after a brief pause.</p><p> </p><p>“But… Minji-sunbaenim…”</p><p> </p><p>Her monotonous voice was slightly choked, and she had to stop for another second to swallow the lump tearing her throat down.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not like there’re just evidences hinting at her being a killer. Her case’s too obvious. She did unintentionally <em>kill</em> someone, and if we can’t catch this asshole on time, she’ll be deemed guilty, and her life will be buried inside that cold prison for good.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong’s eyebrows knitted together. Was it just her imagination, or Yoohyeon’s voice was really… distant? Cold?  </p><p> </p><p>“Yoo, I understand it, we all do.” Yubin interrupted her again, now stepped forward to hide Gahyeon behind her back. “But think about it, mate. What you’re asking is too much. She may…”</p><p> </p><p>“I know.”</p><p> </p><p>Was all the tallest said, while staring straight at the short haired’s eyes, the stubbornness never left her own pair of orbs. Unfaltering and unshakeable, and Handong was so surprised that Yubin, too, didn’t show any intention to back down this time.</p><p> </p><p>“Then you should know, more than anyone, how bad it might cause Gahyeon to feel about all of that. Have you forgotten already?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon shook her head. “I haven’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why the hell do you keep on pushing her into that state again?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired raised her voice in frustration. It was the first time Handong witnessed her losing almost all the calmness she had like this, and really, what was happening right now wasn’t something she wanted to see.</p><p> </p><p>And she knew that Gahyeon, standing under her protection, was feeling the exact same way as she was.</p><p> </p><p>“Binnie, calm down…” The Chinese gently interrupted both of them. “I don’t think hurting Gahyeonie is what Yoo wants to…”</p><p> </p><p>“I know she doesn’t.” Yubin frankly admitted, but when she looked at Handong, her eyes, her face, her composure refused to back down. “Doesn’t mean it won’t. That’s how this world works. You can’t have everything you want. It’s hard, but sometimes, you’ll have to choose. And I’m not gonna stand here and see her, of all people, putting that much pressure onto Gahyeon like this. She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need more hurt coming from someone knowing too well how bad she’ll have to suffer if she’s back to that hacking thing again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I get it, Binnie, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok, Dongie. I can take it from here.”</p><p> </p><p>To her surprise, it was Yoohyeon stopping her from talking this time. She was calm. Way calmer than the current Yubin was. And the way she looked at her eyes… Firm and unwavering, left her no room to intervene any further.</p><p> </p><p>“I get what you’re saying. I also know this is a terrible idea, and if there’s any chance I can choose differently, believe me, I will.”</p><p> </p><p>Then she stopped for a few seconds. Let Yubin respond to her, or just let the short haired look at her in the eye, and try to understand what she’d been thinking about.</p><p> </p><p>And none of those happened, so she continued.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t be as awesome as Taeyeon-unnie and Yuri-unnie. I can’t be cool and less clumsy and perfect. I can’t heal <em>your </em>wounds. I couldn’t save Gahyeon from being hurt. I couldn’t save Chanmi. I couldn’t save Hongbin. I couldn’t save anyone no matter how much I wanted. And I don’t even wanna fight with you like this, so yes, I know, I can’t have everything I want in this world, Binnie. As much as you know, I do, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin was obviously baffled. And actually, Handong was, too. Not to mention being serious, it was hard for her to imagine Yoohyeon saying all of this. Like, sure, she wasn’t perfect or confident or something, but similar to Gahyeon, she hated losing. She hated failures. She hated being wrong. She hated not being able to fix any consequences. She hated the feeling of being helpless, and she hated admitting it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>And looked what she did.</p><p> </p><p>It was just… The Chinese internal alert system kept ringing. Something didn’t feel right…</p><p> </p><p>“But right now, there’s at least one thing I <em>can </em>change. One chance for me to save another person. It’s slim, yes, it’s not certain, but it’s still something.”</p><p> </p><p>The tallest voice was becoming firmer. Harsher. Stricter. Full of impatience and, the Handong could finally understand what laid under her calmness.</p><p> </p><p>Rage.</p><p> </p><p>“That bastard’s killed two people.” Now, even her eyes were burning, too. “And he’s destroying another person life. She has a whole future ahead, and he’s still out here, free to do whatever he’s planning to do next without even being punished for what he’s done. Do you really think I can sit here and just watch, <em>again</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>A moment of silence came. No one could actually say anything. Or no, just Gahyeon and she couldn’t, because…</p><p> </p><p>“And that’s what driving you to compel Gahyeon to do something she’s not ready for?”</p><p> </p><p>Shoot. Her gaze landed at Yubin. She was clearly pissed off.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe it.” She even let out a mocking chuckle. “What you’ve said sounds very noble and righteous and selfless, but do you know what I see in those beautiful words of yours? Just your impotence and hatred toward that guy. Have you looked at yourself now? Do you even know that you look like you’ve turned into some complete stranger to me? To us?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong was stunned. Her blunt answer was something she couldn’t have expected, and Yoohyeon looked like she’d just been slapped directly in the face.</p><p> </p><p>Which in a way, she was. With her word, yes, but the after-effects stayed the same. Especially when her eyes went searching for Handong’s and Gahyeon’s, like she wanted to know if Yubin was telling the truth or not.</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese did want to tell her no. She didn’t want any of them to be hurt, but…</p><p> </p><p>It was true. She couldn’t say anything to deny the short haired’s words. And neither did Gahyeon.</p><p> </p><p>And Yubin hadn’t finished.</p><p> </p><p>“Have you forgotten what you told Seonghwa? Maybe you have, so let me repeat it again for you. There’s nothing right about putting <em>your </em>hate onto someone’s shoulders, especially if this is Gahyeon we’re talking about. And you’re asking her to hurt herself for your own hatred? Because you want to make him pay? Give me a break. You may look calm, but can you act like you really are?”</p><p> </p><p>“I am calm…”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t see it much.”</p><p> </p><p>“I…”</p><p> </p><p>“Will you two stop it?”</p><p> </p><p>Both Yubin and Yoohyeon turned their head to face Handong, who had just intervened with a voice louder to both her own taste and imagination, and stared at her as if she’d just grown out another head. And the Chinese wouldn’t even deny it. This wasn’t like her. She didn’t mean to raise her voice. She didn’t even want to, but she’d had enough.</p><p> </p><p>It was really unbearable to watch them fighting like this.</p><p> </p><p>And actually, if doing this could cool these heads down, she should have done that way earlier.</p><p> </p><p>“I know you both have your own reasons.” Looking at both of them, she straightened her back, and stepped in between. “Logical ones, even, and I’m not denying anything. She’s right…” She glared at Yoohyeon. “You need to ask yourself why you truly want to get to this guy, and if it’s really hatred, then sign me out, I’m not gonna help you to inflate that poisonous thing in your head. And you…” She turned to Yubin. “Stop before you actually start with a personal attacking. I know you’re pissed, and I know it’s because you care, but if you’re losing it to the point that you’re gonna attack her personally, then the one that needs to calm down is you, not her.”</p><p> </p><p>There was an even longer moment of silence, and thank God, at least, these two idiots had stopped, and actually thought about everything she’d said for once.</p><p> </p><p>Which was good. But not good enough.</p><p> </p><p>“And now, if you two dumbasses have finally cooled your heads, then listen. Even before this stupid fight started, isn’t there someone whose opinion <em>you </em>should have asked for first?”</p><p> </p><p>Frowning in doubt, the short haired grunted. “Not you too, Dongie?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry to say this, Binnie, I really am, but objectively speaking, in this case, your opinion and what you want aren’t as important as Gahyeon’s.” Locking her eyes with Yubin’s, Handong didn’t even hesitate to banter back. “I know your intention is good, but you’re right, this is Gahyeon we’re talking about. Even more reason for you to listen to her, not just put <em>your </em>words in her mouth without ask in prior, am I wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>Nobody spoke a word. No objection came out when Handong scanned her friends’ faces and dared them to. So the Chinese stretched her arms, and pulled Gahyeon out of Yubin’s back. The youngest looked uncertain, of course, and there was a hint of reluctance in her eyes, too. And she couldn’t blame the girl for that. Witnessing her best friends fighting because of her wasn’t something nice to endure, after all.</p><p> </p><p>It was painful even, if she had to be honest.</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t mean she would allow her to run away from all of this, especially when she suddenly realised what that faint ray nesting in her eyes meant. So softening her gaze and staring deeply into those clear pupils, she held her shoulders, gently said.</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeon, listen to me. Before you hear Yoohyeon’s request and answer it, I need you to understand a few things, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl rigidly nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Good.” Handong licked her dry lips. “First one is, your answer has to be what you truly want to do.”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon seemed a little confused. What the Chinese’d just said might be too obvious, but she knew, not all of them could really understand the differences between what one wanted and what one thought they wanted.</p><p> </p><p>“No matter what you choose, yes or no, one of them will be hurt, and this is not the type of situation where you can run away from. You’ll have to choose. Running away will just hurt both of them, and I believe that’s something you’ll never want to under any circumstances.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest’s eyes slightly flickered, but she still nodded after thinking about it.</p><p> </p><p>“And if your answer is not what you want… You’re hurting yourself by doing it. You’ll just keeping questioning yourself because things <em>will </em>feel wrong. And if in the end, things really go wrong? That’s when you’ll truly feel the hurt. And I’ll be hurt watching you hurt yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>Now, the girl had lowered her eyes, and Handong knew, that was the sign of her reconsidering all the possibilities in her big brain.</p><p> </p><p>“And you saw these two idiots fought for you, right?” Flinging her head at Yoohyeon and Yubin, she continued. “They will be hurt too, for sure. So that makes all four of us being hurt. Four versus one, I think that’s enough for you to know which option is more beneficial, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Another moment of silence, but finally, Gahyeon had nodded in reluctance.</p><p> </p><p>“So Yoohyeon’s opinion, Yubin’s opinion, my opinion, what happened, what might happen, and what you think you <em>should </em>do, all of them don’t matter. What you truly want to do has to stay on top of that, are we clear on this?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl gave her a firmer nod this time.</p><p> </p><p>“That comes to the second thing. You’re allowed to say either yes or no. And that doesn’t mean you’re choosing side between them. Your answer just means what you want coincidently is the same with what one of them wants, and that’s it. You still love both of them, and they’re equally important to you, so no hard feelings no matter what your answer is.”</p><p> </p><p>Along with Gahyeon, the Chinese spared those two a glance, and secretly let out a relieved sigh. At least their faces weren’t tensed or darkened anymore. Which wasn’t a surprise to her, to be honest. Those two were far from being stupid, and even one of them was really oblivious when coming to emotions, she was still able to sympathise with the others, and that was what mattered, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“And if they have any hard feelings, I’ll kick their asses before you even notice, so don’t worry about it.”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest sheepishly grinned. There was a faint shy smile on Yubin’s lips, and Yoohyeon…</p><p> </p><p>Thank God. She finally looked… more Yoohyeon now.</p><p> </p><p>And… Now Handong could relax a bit. Gosh, she didn’t know the atmosphere was <em>that</em> heavy. Not until the tension had been relieved.</p><p> </p><p>But she hadn’t finished. Not yet.</p><p> </p><p>“One more thing, but I think you knew this already. In case you choose to help, I mean. What Yubin’s feared of, for you. We all know it’s not gonna be an easy ride. It’s hard, actually. So I think you should know that you may think you’re ready to face it, but actually, you’re not. And vice versa. What you think and what will really happen are not the same. Completely different, even. So, ready or not might be another factor for you to consider, but like I said, what you want has… to… comes… first.”</p><p> </p><p>Swallowing down, the youngest nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“So…” Now Handong could feel her smile more genuinely. “Can I assume what you’re gonna say next is what you want?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s grin faded way quicker than she had expected it to.</p><p> </p><p>“Will everything be ok if I just go with what I want?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese sighed. That was another hard-to-say fact. A really ugly truth she wished she could just deny, but looking at the youngest’s expectant eyes…</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t lie. And maybe she would never be.</p><p> </p><p>“No one can confirm that, Gahyeonie.” Handong stopped biting her lips, and shook her head. “Not me, not anyone, not even you. It might be good, it might be bad, it might be anything in between. There’s nothing certain. We’ll just have to go with whatever might happen, and accept whatever consequences come, that’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyebrow arched, unbelievingly. “We?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong’s gaze moved to Yoohyeon, shifted to Yubin, looked at the certainty in theirs, and landed on the youngest with a gentle smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” She nodded. “We.”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s eyes softly glinted when she returned her smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay then…”</p><p> </p><p>And took a deep breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. You can assume what I’m gonna say is what I want now.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese nodded. That was enough for her already. “Go on.” She let go of the youngest’s shoulders, and flung her head. “I’ll be here.”</p><p> </p><p>The girl closed her eyes, and none of them said another word. Time slowly passed by, but no matter how edgy they felt, the three of them were still able to hold it in.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon opened her eyes, and Handong smiled. She couldn’t see any reluctance or hesitation on her beautiful face, not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>So the girl went. To Yubin first, with an apologetic look that Handong didn’t really need to see for herself to know it was there. Which made the short haired’s eyebrows furrow altogether. Clearly, she, too, knew the answer even before the girl had to speak up.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure about this?”</p><p> </p><p>“I am.” She nodded without any hesitation. “I know you’re worried, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t…”</p><p> </p><p>Folding her arms, Yubin interrupted before Gahyeon could apologise. She threw a quick glance to the Chinese first, before sighing heavily.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t like this, but she’s right. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest nodded, which made Yubin sigh even more heavily.</p><p> </p><p>“Then the one who should be sorry is me, Gahyeonie.” The short haired raised her hand to stop her friend from interrupting what she wanted to say. “It’s fine. I’ll spare you from feeling bad by not being sorry though…”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you?”</p><p> </p><p>Another sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll try.”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon slightly chuckled. “Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>Another silence came when neither of them knew what to say to make the air less tense or weird. And then…</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, unnie…”</p><p> </p><p>Throwing her arms around Yubin’s neck, the girl quietly said. There was quite a lot of unspoken things contained in that small thank and big hug, if Handong wasn’t wrong. Thanks for being with me all along. Thanks for enduring a nuisance like me. And thanks for letting me grow up. And many things more, which she couldn’t really spot on, but that was fine.</p><p> </p><p>And maybe she wasn’t wrong, because Yubin just blinked constantly, responded her with a clumsy hug back, before pulling herself out.</p><p> </p><p>Cringy time, sure, but necessary cringy, maybe.</p><p> </p><p>And the youngest finally turned toward Yoohyeon. The two of them locked eyes with each other for a few seconds, before Gahyeon decided to break the ice with her abnormally soft voice.</p><p> </p><p>“How are you feeling?”</p><p> </p><p>The tallest remained silent for nearly thirty seconds, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Like shit…” Muttering in an exhausted voice, she finally admitted. “And I’m sorry, Gahyeonie… I didn’t… I was just…”</p><p> </p><p>“Being dumb.” Sparing her from explanatory ranting, the youngest finished it with another nod. “Which I’m already too familiar with, so it’s fine, you idiot. And I know it’s a lot for you to take in, but don’t scare me like that again, please? Don’t just hold it in. You can always tell us everything, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was suddenly interested in the floor, so Gahyeon stopped for a moment, waited for her friend to raise her head up before shrugging.</p><p> </p><p>“And… Delete this in your mind after everything’s over, but I think I’m dumb, too, so let Yubin-unnie and Dong-unnie be the rational ones, and we can be dumb together, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>That had the tallest cracking out a smile. A weak one, but perhaps for now, anything was fine.</p><p> </p><p>But maybe… The way those idiots weirdly avoided looking into each other’s eyes was really awkward to Gahyeon’s taste…</p><p>  </p><p>“And…” She let out a sigh when glancing at both of them. “… please don’t kill each other to protect me again, maybe?”</p><p> </p><p>It was obvious that this line of hers was spoken to Yubin rather than Yoohyeon, and for the first time since she’d met Handong, the girl was quite perplexed. The air between them shifted to something rather awkward, especially when none of those two wanted to say anything until…</p><p> </p><p>“Look…” Yubin hesitantly started. “Yoo, I…”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, stop it…” Biting her lower lips, Yoohyeon slowly shook her head. “It’s… weird, hearing you say that, I mean. And what you said wasn’t completely wrong, so don’t say you’re sorry or something. And…”</p><p> </p><p>She let out a really heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry for coming back to this, but I mean, I’m calmer now. Like, <em>seriously</em> calm, for real. And I still wanna stop him, so I guess it wasn’t just because of hate? And… yes, Minji-sunbaenim needs me, too, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Looking into Yubin’s eyes, she seemed like she was gathering all the sincerity she had, and genuinely said.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>really </em>don’t wanna see anyone dying again.”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired’s gaze shifted back and forth between Yoohyeon’s pupils, longingly searched for a sign of the dishonesty that never existed, before sighing for the uncountable-th time in the last few hours.</p><p> </p><p>“Guess I’ll have no choice then.” Her gaze now landed at Gahyeon. “Is my laptop fine for you?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest painted out a small smile with a thumb-up for a yes.</p><p>---------------------------------------------</p><p>“You know from the start, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin’s question was quite out of the blue. Which explained why Handong looked a little baffled, but then, the Chinese just simply nodded.</p><p> </p><p>The short haired took a deep breath, still couldn’t believe that she’d missed all the signs. And… There was something else growing in her, too. Or no, growing wasn’t the right word. <em>Losing</em> was. Like a strange kind of loss she didn’t really know why it was here, and the loss just kept getting bigger and bigger, to the point that she could no longer ignore it.</p><p> </p><p>Which was now.</p><p> </p><p>But she felt it. No matter if she knew the reason(s) or not.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe… Her eyes found Handong’s elegant side profile. How this girl could catch up with the smallest signs from her best friends. How the girl could read her, pretty accurately, even though she did try her best to not let her know too much about herself. How the girl could gain her trust a little bit too fast…</p><p> </p><p>Maybe, just maybe… It was because she wasn’t the one understanding Gahyeon the most? Not anymore?</p><p> </p><p>The short haired secretly hummed. That sounded like a very valid reason.</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t mean she liked it, unfortunately…</p><p> </p><p>“If you temporarily forget about what you think you should do, Binnie, it’ll be a piece of cake for you to realise what Gahyeon truly wants, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin slightly frowned. Was this what people called ‘Karma’? ‘Cause she started to understand how Yoohyeon felt whenever she spoke on the taller’s behalf, and… It wasn’t a very good feeling, if she could be honest.</p><p> </p><p>Now those sharp eyes of Handong were pretty similar to an X-ray to her.</p><p> </p><p>And the short haired felt like she’d just been stripped. Totally, and completely.</p><p> </p><p>“Are my thoughts that obvious?”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese thought about it for a second. “I’ll give them five out of ten in terms of clarity.”</p><p> </p><p>That was a very specific description, she would have to agree with it.</p><p> </p><p>“And how did you do it?” She added when Handong raised an eyebrow. “Forgetting what you should do?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t really know, to be honest.” Now, it was her turn to arch her own eyebrow. “I rarely think about what I should do. I just wanted Gahyeon to be able to do what she wants, that’s all. Just like what I want for Yoohyeon, and now, for you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>That stole from her a laugh. Curt, and insincere. But she couldn’t help it. She knew her friend was being a hundred percent serious. She knew.</p><p> </p><p>She just didn’t get it.</p><p> </p><p>“Did I not do what I want before?”</p><p> </p><p>And she didn’t expect a nonchalant shrug. “You’re not doing it <em>now</em>, let alone before, so… Yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>That had effectively shut her up. Blunt, straightforward, and simple enough to understand. And Handong’s words just kept being hammered to her neurons, echoing to every corner of head, and lingering there until God knew when it would vanish.</p><p> </p><p>Which might be never.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s hard, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired blinked. “What?”</p><p> </p><p>“Being a pillar, and being vulnerable at the same time. It’s hard, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin didn’t answer. She searched for Gahyeon and Yoohyeon, walking in front of them, far enough to not be able to hear all this conversation, but not too far to be out of sight. And she wasn’t too sure what she was looking for at their giant-dwarf frames, or why she was looking at them all of a sudden.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe… something to ease her stretched nerves, even just a little?</p><p> </p><p>Or… something could help her to deny the fact Handong’d just stated?</p><p> </p><p>She found nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“Your values as a friend are more than just being a pillar for them, and showing them your wounds won’t make them stop coming to you when they need it, Binnie…”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired pressed her lips. She didn’t want to even look at Handong’s eyes. It pissed her off even more than the completely strange Yoohyeon earlier, and she didn’t want to be dragged into another banter with more bites than just barks. Not now.</p><p> </p><p>Or… Did she just not dare looking at them? But really, what did the girl know? How could she be so sure of something even Yubin couldn’t be sure of?</p><p> </p><p>“See? You’re not doing what you want.” Cutting off her train of thought, her friend suddenly commented. “You’re even trying to hide your frustration. Doesn’t look like what you wanna do to me.”</p><p> </p><p>Squinting her eyes, the short haired asked, her voice was dangerously low.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you provoking me?”</p><p> </p><p>But Handong didn’t seem to bother. Unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“If that can make you realise, or even better, admit that you’re not fine?” The Chinese casually shrugged. “Then I don’t mind. But it clearly doesn’t, so the answer’s no, Binnie, I’m not.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin stopped walking. She wanted to retort, or do anything to pay back, but she wasn’t even sure what she should say. Or what she wanted to say. Maybe she wanted to deny whatever Handong was talking about. Maybe she just wanted the girl to stop looking into her mind and making her feel so naked. Or maybe she just wanted to shout to her to release all the tension she was bearing.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, are you guys coming or not?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s call saved her from being snapped. Luckily. Or not so luckily.</p><p> </p><p>She had no idea which was which, especially when glancing at Handong’s knowing gaze, only to regret a second later.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>“Coming.” The Chinese answered with a perfect faked grin, before turning to her with the most serious face she could pull off. “Hey, I know now isn’t the most perfect timing, but can you hear me, just for once? I promise I’ll shut up after this.”</p><p> </p><p>She wanted to say no. For God’s sake, she really wanted to say no.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry for exposing you without your permission.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin couldn’t help but frowning. Why was she sorry now? Why not earlier? And… Oh, perfect. Now the girl was even looking at her with such a beautiful <em>and </em>genuinely sparkling pair of eyes, and no, that didn’t help. At all.</p><p> </p><p>“But keeping all of them in, and one day, the pillar, which is you, will be broken for good.”</p><p> </p><p>She wanted to deny it, again.</p><p> </p><p>She said nothing to deny it, again.</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t have to be me, you know? The one you wanna talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin had no idea her shoulders were slowly loosening up.</p><p> </p><p>“But I’ll be happy if I am.”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t avoid Handong’s gaze any longer. And she couldn’t see any hesitation, malice, or lies in her too beautiful eyes. Which might make her feel a little bit better if she could.</p><p> </p><p>So she wouldn’t have to be frustrated at herself for not pissing off at the Chinese’s illegally bright smile.</p><p> </p><p>“And now I can shut up in peace. Let’s go.”</p><p> </p><p>And she wouldn’t have to curse herself for slightly chuckling at her sudden blurt out.</p><p> </p><p>Oh God, she looked at the three of them, impatiently waiting for her to come and unlock her laptop, which was given to Gahyeon, and now placed on the desk in the corner of an empty classroom.</p><p> </p><p>Walking toward them, she secretly took a deep breath. Her long day hadn’t finished yet, apparentl…</p><p> </p><p>“Did you just hack my password?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin blinked at the youngest in disbelief. What the hell…? She was just behind them for thirty seconds. Thirty goddamn seconds! How fast could this little devil be?</p><p> </p><p>“Er… No? I saw you typed it in numerous times, so…” The girl not-so-shamefully smiled, but she doubted her eyes were also smiling like her lips. “Sorry, unnie, but you’re kinda slow… And can I give you an advice? Damithewriter030797 is not a very secured one, so you should consider changing it…”</p><p> </p><p>“After this? Believe me I will…” She muttered, not so sure either if she was <em>that </em>displeased, or if changing her password would actually mean anything. “So what are you gonna do now?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s smile vanished in a single heartbeat. Now she didn’t have to doubt anymore. It was obvious, the girl didn’t really wanna smile. Typing her password before she’d arrived, or talking way faster than she normally did were just a way for her to get rid of the nervousness. Even her hands were slightly shaking, and really, what was she up to? Why did she even agree to do all of this?</p><p> </p><p>But before Yubin could stop her one more time, the girl had taken a deep breath, nodded to show her that she was fine, before turning toward Yoohyeon.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you wanna know about her?”</p><p> </p><p>Now the short haired saw it, too. Her tallest friend was hesitating, but eventually, she quietly said.</p><p> </p><p>“Anything’s fine at this stage, really.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then let’s start with the easiest one.” Gahyeon nodded. “I still remember her Facebook and Twitter password, so it should be fine if there’s no one changing it after she…”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure you’re ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Cutting her off, Yoohyeon blurted out all of a sudden, her worry for the youngest now overflowed. Which, coincidently, was exactly what Yubin was thinking, too. Weird. Just a few minutes ago they were fighting over this, and now…</p><p> </p><p>Time was a really funny thing.</p><p> </p><p>“I know I’m contradicting myself here, but if you aren’t ok, we can…”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you think it’s too late to ask me to back down <em>after </em>injecting that idea into my head?”</p><p> </p><p>The youngest intervened, her smile was weak, but firm. And the way she scanned all three of them, just like how Handong’d dared her to talk back earlier, left them no room to object what she was saying.</p><p> </p><p>“I wanna know what happened, too.” Deeply inhaling, she firmly nodded. “It might be something I don’t wanna see. It might be something I don’t wanna hear. I get it. But I’m done letting this vagueness get to me now. I’m sick of it. So stop being the devil advocate, shut up, and let me do my job, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>None of them could utter another word. Even Yubin. Or especially Yubin. But at least, now she knew why. And even though she wasn’t keen on the idea, she had to admit that Gahyeon had a point here.</p><p> </p><p>She and Yoohyeon had witnessed her sudden down mood. She and Yoohyeon had also seen her silently crying during some nights crashing at her house when her parents’d gone on business trips. She and Yoohyeon had also been through those struggles with her.</p><p> </p><p>And Yubin suddenly realised. This might be harsh. This might be cruel. But this might also be what Gahyeon needed. A confirmation. An uncomfortable and ugly truth, as long as she had enough courage to face this directly.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at her youngest friend, whose shoulders were tensed and frame was trembling, but didn’t show any other signs of running away; her eyes glinted, half proud, half wondering.</p><p> </p><p>Would she be able to be brave like her? Not today, but… One day? Maybe?</p><p> </p><p>“Okay…” Gahyeon’s announcement suddenly cut off her thoughts. Dang, the girl was really fast. “Here it…” She cleared her throat and repeated, more audibly. “Here it is. Her Facebook wall. Nothing changed, as far as I remembered…”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was sad, Yubin could notice. A little nostalgic, too. And even her eyes started to tear up, but she didn’t look away. Her lips slightly quivered when she stared at Lee Siyeon’s old pictures. And she had to stop for a few second to collect herself. But there weren’t many of them. A few profile ones, some random covers, and Yubin had to admit, this girl’d had a very artistic eye in terms of photography and art.</p><p> </p><p>Which made her chest felt weirdly empty. Especially when she compared those lively and gently faint smiles to the deadly pale pair of lips she’d personally seen on that day…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Bad move.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Can you go to her inbox?” Yoohyeon pulled her back to reality by focusing on the main purpose. “Did she have any private page or blog or something?”</p><p> </p><p>“No page or blog, not as I remember…” Gahyeon made a few more clicks to doublecheck. “Yeah, I was right… Not linking to this account, at least. And if I’m not wrong…” She went to her Messenger, and scrolled down really fast. “… I remember reading something… That I had to go back to her Twitter and try to find out who this was… Here.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin tilted her head. Even her Messenger didn’t have a lot of conversations with others, and the one Gahyeon wanted to show them stayed nearly in the bottom of her chat box.</p><p> </p><p>“Last time the last message sent was the last May…” Handong squinted her eyes. “And… Alice in boredomland? For real?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just a nickname, Dong-unnie.” The youngest shrugged. “I can change Yoohyeon’s nickname on my Messenger to The World most idiotic weirdo in just two seconds.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!”</p><p> </p><p>“Or give me five, that’s a fucking long nickname.” Ignoring her tall friend’s protest, she continued. “And you have no right to object here, honey. But it’s not the point anyway. This account was deleted way before I hacked into S… her account, so I don’t even know who this one belonged to, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Then, the girl leaned back for them to have a clearer look, finger kept scrolling their conversation up for everyone to read.</p><p> </p><p>Random stuffs. Banters. Not something abnormal or so.</p><p> </p><p>But words were really weird. Somehow, something written like “<em>Hey, they nearly got me.”</em>, replied by <em>“Where the fuck are you now, you dumbass?”</em> just seconds later, or <em>“Get your fucking ass down to the classroom and do that test for me, Lee Siyeon.”</em>, or <em>“Suit yourself, jump, and istg I’ll kill you myself, you idiot.”</em>, which followed by <em>“No, fuck you, wait there.”</em> could sound way more caring and genuine than some other beautiful words she had heard.</p><p> </p><p>And she continued.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Yo bitch!”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Sup?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Got a box? I’m fucking boreeeeeeeeed.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“*search for a fake ID I don’t have* Yes?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Fancy on a date with a hot girl, beer and Netflix? Not out tn.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’ll take care of being the hot girl then.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Nerd girl, you mean?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Fuck you.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh yes baby yes…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Horny.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Bitchy.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Awwww~ Does my Alice finally grow up?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Stfu. And stop calling me that, you bitch.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“LMAO someone told me she liked it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Because she was fucking dumb!183gfqpeibwr9v3hqi”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“But fr, do you wanna grow old?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I wish we could stay together if we do live until then…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“We only have each other, don’t we?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s do it. Stay together. Grow old together. I’m the only one can stand your annoying ass, right?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“And you’re the only one accepting me for who I really am, after all…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You shouldn’t have done that.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Shut up.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You didn’t have to do that for me. It’s not worth it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Stfu. Don’t you dare telling me that shit too.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m the one deciding if you’re worth it or not.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Can you just fucking listen for once?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I’ve always been doing it.” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“So maybe you should throw that stupid question to your face, not mine.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Do you love me Siyeon?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“[The person you’re contacting is not here]”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I know you’re here.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“*not looking*”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Fuck you, answer me.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Does it really matter?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Do I even get to choose?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You’re the only one I have left.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Fuck, I can’t delete it on your inbox too?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Ignore that shit, I’m just being pathetic.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“And drunk.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I think.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Meet me there?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Told you to fucking ignore it.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Old place?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Like what, the last bullshit goodbye thingy?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Singnie…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Please?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Be there in ten.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>There were a lot more, but that was the last message they’d exchanged.</p><p> </p><p>On the thirtieth of May, twenty-twenty. Eleven months. Nearly a year had passed.  </p><p> </p><p>And… The very last one Lee Siyeon’d replied had been sent fourteen minutes after receiving Alice’s last text. All that amount of time for a simple sentence like this? What had she had in mind? What had she really wanted to say? What had she really wanted to do? How long had she hesitated for? How much had she struggled to send such an ending message?</p><p> </p><p>She must have known that this might be the last text she could send to the other girl, right?</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Had she cried?</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Had <em>they</em> cried?</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Damn it.</p><p> </p><p>Yubin was struggling to swallow down. Her throat was strangely dry. Her chest was way heavier, and somehow, she kind of regretted reading all of this. She didn’t really know how to react. It wasn’t confusing, no, but what she’d just seen didn’t really leave a good taste in her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>It was bitter. Even their happy time seemed unreal. Like a faked sweet coat covering on a sharp lump choking her from the inside.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe this was where those rumours started from.” Gahyeon monotonously admitted. “I mean, I don’t really know myself… It was just… that. I have no idea when this Alice deleted her account, either… And yeah… It was <em>this </em>vague. There’s a very thin line, and I’m not too sure if they were really a couple, so I wasn’t very surprised when I saw it was turned into rumours only.”</p><p> </p><p>Wordlessly, Yubin and Handong both raised their hands to pat the youngest’s shoulders in unison. The short haired exchanged her Chinese friend a quick glance, and nodded before focusing back to Gahyeon. The girl was slightly trembling. She was swallowing hard, too. She wasn’t as calm as when she first opened her laptop, but she was also far from being broken.</p><p> </p><p>This girl was, indeed, tough.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Gahyeonie…” Yoohyeon hesitantly pulled the youngest’s sleeve. “Sorry… I didn’t know… I shouldn’t assume it to be…”</p><p> </p><p>Only to be waved off.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop saying that embarrassing bullshit.” Gahyeon firmly nodded after a deep breath. “What’s done is done. And I’ll be fine. Not now, but one day, I will, so stop pampering me, all of you.” Her lips curled up, painted out a weak devilish grin. “Or I’ll haunt all of you forever to be pampered, got it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, I’m shivering in my boots now. Anyone minds?”</p><p> </p><p>Handong playfully responded, and earned a slight shove for herself. And Yubin couldn’t help but noticing one thing. The Chinese’s shoulders were so stiff, and she only realised how stiff they were when the girl secretly loosened up.</p><p> </p><p>A pang of guilt stung the short haired’s chest, but she ignored it. Now wasn’t the right time.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, back to business, I don’t really see there’s anything else we can find from here…” Gahyeon turned back to Yubin’s laptop screen. “I might be able to recover this deleted account, but it’ll take time, so is there anything else you think we can find here?” She cocked an eyebrow toward Yoohyeon. “I mean, I didn’t know, but now I think it’s safe to say that this Alice is Kim Bora, right?”</p><p> </p><p>All three of them remained silent. The short haired didn’t have anything to deny the youngest’s opinion, after all. She did think the same, so what was the point anyway?</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“If you think you can, then do it later, and try to find out who this Alice really is.” Her tallest friend carefully said with her arms folded. “Not that I don’t agree with you, but we don’t really have anything to confirm. She didn’t even have any profile picture here…”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s what permanently deleting your account means…”</p><p> </p><p>“But yeah…” Ignoring Gahyeon’s murmur, Yoohyeon scrolled the mousepad on her own, and searched. “What about her Twitter account? Instagram? Tumblr? Reddit? Quora?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t tell you much, to be honest.” The youngest answered after a few minutes thinking. “Not because I can’t remember, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Her accounts were existing just to make her look more like… her peers?”</p><p> </p><p>A nod.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing on those?”</p><p> </p><p>Another nod.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon let out a despondent sigh. “Fair enough… And I don’t see much to read on those messages with other account, either…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin hummed in agreement. She tried to have a look for herself, and the results weren’t very appealing. Classmates, groupmates, some sort of curt messages with Siyeon’s mother, weren’t happy, but nothing suspicious. Not to her, and now, she could confirm that they didn’t look fishy to her best friend, either.</p><p> </p><p>“Then we can look at those later. Did you get into her personal email back then?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon’s eyes got wider. “I can try that.” The girl immediately straightened her back. “Yeah… I didn’t have much time back then… And she had the habit of using just one goddamn password, so it should be fast, too…”</p><p> </p><p>“And by the way… How the hell can you remember her password after not touching it for so long?”</p><p> </p><p>“I remember yours and Yubin-unnie’s, too.” Gahyeon nonchalantly shrugged. “And her password is very unique. It doesn’t follow the usual patterns, so it’s even easier for me to stick it in my mind… Something just refuses to leave, kind of…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin quickly exchanged her gaze with the other two, just to confirm. And clearly, she wasn’t the only one being caught in pure surprise. If this wasn’t a sign of a genius, then she had no idea what was.</p><p> </p><p>“It’ll take more time to know if she had more than just one email address, but for now…” The youngest drawled out, word by word. “… Just… One… And… Voila. No change in password, but actually, she didn’t really need to…”</p><p> </p><p>“Make things a little bit easier for us.” Shrugging, Yoohyeon clearly had no complaints. “So… Go to social category… That primary one can be just full of school emails or so, but this one here…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong let out a knowing grin. “To see what kind of social media or websites she used this email address to subscribe?”</p><p> </p><p>“Bingo.” Her tallest friend winked. “And narrow down the number of social networks we should go check…”</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeonie, stop!”</p><p> </p><p>Startled, yes, but the youngest did what she was told. And even though they hadn’t seen it like the short haired had, the three of them quickly understood why she was being so loud like that.</p><p> </p><p>The third email, from the bottom up in her social email category.</p><p> </p><p>“SoundCloud?” Gahyeon blinked. “She has a <em>SoundCloud</em> account?”</p><p> </p><p>“Erm…” Handong couldn’t even close her mouth properly. “I know the website does allow users to streaming music, but it’s more popular for indie producers and <em>composers</em> to upload their unofficial stuffs for their followers, rather than normal streaming sites, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin didn’t say anything, but she was damn sure that she wasn’t the only one having a very bad feeling about all of this. Of course she could be just a normal follower. Tons of people were. It was just…</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…” The youngest shook her head, her shock was, clearly, still there. “Yeah, it is…”</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t wait for any of them to speak another word, she quickly went to the sites. Lee Siyeon’s SoundCloud account was linked to her Facebook account, so there was completely no trouble for them to get into her profile and have a look.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t take more than a second for them to know Lee Siyeon hadn’t been <em>just </em>a follower.</p><p> </p><p>“Holy shit…” Yoohyeon exclaimed. “<em>Fifty-five</em> demo files?”</p><p> </p><p>“She even used up all a hundred and eighty minutes free uploading length for non-membership users…”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon mopishly exclaimed in disbelief, before forced her fingers to dance across the trackpad. There had to be half of the files having no names. Just numbers. But the files with names…</p><p> </p><p>The youngest clicked, and listened for a few seconds. Clicked. And listened. Clicked. And listened. Her rhythm was fast. Like a two-hundred bmp tempo song.</p><p> </p><p>Which was coincidently the same with the heartbeat inside her ribcage right now.</p><p> </p><p>Clicked. Listened. Clicked. Listened. Until…</p><p> </p><p>Her middle finger stopped in mid-air. Let the sound fully escaped from the short haired’s lousy speakers of her laptop.</p><p> </p><p>She was so shock that she could barely hear Gahyeon weakly asked, after blinking constantly to make sure she was reading the correct released date in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>“Posted… on… the tenth of August, last year?”</p><p> </p><p>August? Last year?</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo hadn’t announced her song debut, not until the beginning of the last December…</p><p> </p><p>To her left, Handong was petrified to her spot, and Yoohyeon couldn’t even blink on her right.</p><p> </p><p>And Yubin wasn’t at a better state.</p><p> </p><p>All the blood rushing through her ears during the clicking process just abruptly frozen. Right at the moment she’d heard the very first note of the instrument playing through her laptop speakers.</p><p> </p><p>The solemn sound of a pipe organ.</p><p> </p><p>Church. Organised. Ordered. Chained. Tamed. Controlled.</p><p> </p><p>Over a waiting-to-explode temptation. An untameable desire. A thirst to break free of whatever chains holding her back.</p><p> </p><p>An anthem of freedom, but rather than the breathy and somehow shy voice of Kim Chanmi…</p><p> </p><p>It was now sung in a huskier, sexier, more vulnerable, but also more powerful voice of its one and only creator.</p><p> </p><p>The true master of this masterpiece.</p><p> </p><p>Lee Siyeon.</p><p> </p><p>The familiar, seductive, yet terrifying sound of…</p><p> </p><p>“Paradise… Lost?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh God…</p><p> </p><p>“No. No no no no no no no…”</p><p> </p><p>Shaking her head, Yoohyeon frantically ranted before looking at an equally shocked Yubin; a ray of complicated feelings flashing through her orbs when she finished connecting the dots altogether.</p><p> </p><p>“Where the hell is Jeon Jiwoo now?”</p><p>-----------------------------------------------------</p><p>Their throat was swollen.</p><p> </p><p>Wasn’t a very nice feeling. Just like having an inflating balloon right in the middle of the airway.</p><p> </p><p>Their stomach was burning.</p><p> </p><p>An even less nice feeling. Was it how it supposed to feel like? Being cooked alive?</p><p> </p><p>They couldn’t breathe. They couldn’t cough it out. They couldn’t throw it up. No matter how much they wanted to.</p><p> </p><p>Or did they do all of that already?</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t matter. Things didn’t change much, though.</p><p> </p><p>Their body convulsed. Vigorously at first. Uncontrollably. Then slightly turned into twitches.</p><p> </p><p>And that was it…</p><p> </p><p>They could feel it. At the moment between life and death, they could feel it. Very clearly.</p><p> </p><p>How the last string of their conscience was about to be cut.</p><p> </p><p>How the last scene in front of their blurry vision was about to dissipate.</p><p> </p><p>How it wouldn’t be just a normal sleep this time.</p><p> </p><p>How it would be a permanent sleep, for good.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hah… That was fucking hurt…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>They weakly opened their eyes. It was so hard. Since when did their eyes become <em>this</em> stubborn?</p><p> </p><p>But those stupid receptors could still receive it. The blue light radiating from the phone screen lying next to their twitching body.</p><p> </p><p>They could…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Until when?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Twitch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What’s happening on that screen?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Twitch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hey hand… Grab it, please?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Twitch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>So slippery… Or just because they couldn’t grab things more firmly?</p><p> </p><p>Twitch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Is it… close? … Death?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Twitch.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Is… death… good?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yes? Hah… Sor…ry…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Felt so small, though… Like being a teeny tiny little thing, alone in this whole universe.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>N..o? </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Their vision darkened.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>H..e..lp?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Their mind drifted away.</p><p> </p><p>Twi…</p><p> </p><p>Their body stopped moving.</p><p> </p><p>This time… For good.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... Yes... A bumpy ride, I guess? And I think personally, I'm just too into dark stuffs, so... Voila! I'm not sure if there's any of you have read the last part's writing style before, but if you haven't... I hoped it didn't scare you or make you feel uncomfortable or something. I might not have a bad intention, but I know people might feel uneasy no matter what my intention is. So I apologise in advance if you're hurt by it, and please inform me, too, so maybe I can tone it down or remove it to avoid further hurt on my beloved readers *bow*</p><p>Once again, thank you very much for your supports and patience. I deeply appreciate it, a lot :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. "All mysteries... have been cleared up."</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“I did the right thing, right?”</p><p>No response. No reaction. Just her image coldly stared back at them. Emotionlessly. Fiercely. Like a total stranger they had never met. Like she was just someone they’d used to know.</p><p>The dead couldn’t talk. The dead couldn’t smile. The dead wasn’t God. </p><p>And the dead wasn’t kind.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey~ So... Another long break, I guess? But again, to compensate for that long break of mine, I present to you *drum roll* another long ass chapter *throw flowers* Before we get into the case, there's one hint I think I should tell you about the previous chapter (Pls forgive my mind for having the shortest memory recorded). It's gonna be a spoiler for the animation 'Coco' of Disney, so please skip it and jump to the chapter straight away if you don't wanna see it :"&gt;</p><p>And here we go. </p><p>In chapter 4 (I think?), our Dong Dong had revealed her thought on 'Paradise Lost'. I can't remember exactly what she said, but generally, here was the meaning: She was pretty surprised when listening to 'Paradise Lost' for the first time, and she said something about the song being off, like when you listened to 'Remember me', sung by Ernesto de la Cruz in the movies. In the movies, the song was a big hit for de la Cruz, but nobody knew it was stolen from Hector, its true composer, and was killed by de la Cruz himself. Personally, I was spoiled a bit of 'Coco', because somebody told me the song was very moving or such, and when I first listened to it, I was like 🤨🤨🤨 'Really?!?!?' until the plot twist revealed. So, yeah, a small hint coming from early stage, and really, I had a lot of fun when inserting these small details while I was writing 🤭</p><p>Okay, so no more rantings, please enjoy the next ride in this (nearly) final chapter 🤭</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seonghwa secretly let out a sigh. The fact that everyone in his club, despite being done with the long wait and that stupid interrogation (which, to his surprise, had been unexpectedly casual. Just like a small chat with someone not so scary and hadn’t paid much attention to what he had to say) or not, wasn’t allowed to go home made him quite nervous.</p><p> </p><p>Learning how to act had taught him how to read further into someone’s actions. Actions had meanings. They were done for certain reasons. The intention was normally kept hidden, but somehow, the actions themselves were still able to convey it.</p><p> </p><p>And them being kept here, in this classroom, couldn’t imply at something good.</p><p> </p><p>Was his club the only one being kept? Did the police think the killer might be one of them? Did the police suspect the killer to be one of them? Who was under suspect?</p><p> </p><p>He scanned the whole classroom. Youngjo, remaining his poker face both before and after his interrogation turn, was fidgeting with his spinner, causing a small buzzing sound, <em>very </em>audible in this quiet room. Seunghee, and Yujin, still in shock, but stayed together, leaned on each other to encourage themselves to hang in there. Yonghoon, abnormally pale and sick (mostly thanks to the worry he had for Minji-sunbaenim), quietly sat in the corner of the room.</p><p> </p><p>There were supposed to have two more, but…</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa felt sick to his stomach. This… This was way too much. Hongbin being killed was one thing, but being in the same room with the killer? With a killer so good at acting, that he couldn’t even be sure if what they showed was actually what they thought?</p><p> </p><p>That was a different story.</p><p> </p><p>But… If he actually thought about it… Kim Chanmi and that bastard Lee Hongbin…</p><p> </p><p>If it was only Lee Hongbin, then sure, he could count everyone sitting here, including himself, to have at least one valid reason to wish for that bastard to disappear forever and never come back, but…</p><p> </p><p>Kim Chanmi? And if adding Jeon Jiwoo to the list, just like he had suspected when Kim Yoohyeon and Lee Yubin brought Siyeon in count? He really couldn’t think of anyone here having a close relation to her, except for himself.</p><p> </p><p>And the police didn’t look <em>that </em>stupid… So why the hell did they keep them here? Was there something he didn’t know of? Or…</p><p> </p><p>Had Siyeon really committed suicide?</p><p> </p><p>The smile of his idiotic cousin came back to his mind all of a sudden. That stupid smile. Since when hadn’t him seen her eyes curved into those familiar crescents? Since when hadn’t he seen her lip corner curled up? Since when hadn’t him seen her kneeling down to the ground, with her back leaned backward, and freely laughing out loud? Was it after the beginning of last September, when she’d been transferred from Daegu to Seoul, and attended Jung Dok High?</p><p> </p><p>Or was it even before that?</p><p> </p><p>To his dismay, he couldn’t recall it. The last time he’d seen her smile. Or grin. Or laugh.</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa buried his face into his hands. He didn’t like this chaotic, messed up, and unnameable feelings stubbornly nesting in his chest. He’d never felt this helpless, and lost in his entire life. He tried to escape. He could even swear to God, he had been trying so hard, to run away from this fucking storm haunting his sleep almost every night.</p><p> </p><p>Since the end of last November.</p><p> </p><p>And yet… Still couldn’t get away from it, from the end of last November, way until now.</p><p> </p><p>The day all his hate had been flushed down to the sewer and become meaningless.</p><p> </p><p>The day Siyeon’d…</p><p> </p><p>Fuck… He bit his lower lips.</p><p> </p><p>Why couldn’t she hang in there? Why couldn’t she stay? Was what they’d said true? Had she truly jumped out of that fucking roof?</p><p> </p><p>Why couldn’t she be here, back to him, and tell him what the fuck had happened?</p><p> </p><p>If the answer was yes… If the answer was no…</p><p> </p><p>Clenching his jaws, Seonghwa pulled out all the efforts he had to suppress a shiver attacking his spine, his hands, his whole body.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t be sure if he was really ready to hear the truth.</p><p> </p><p>Or maybe, Seonghwa took a deep breath. Maybe the police just kept them here because of another reason? Now, if he thought about that… Kim Chanmi, Lee Hongbin, and even Jeon Jiwoo…</p><p> </p><p>There was another one suffering from those scumbags, too…</p><p> </p><p>But, how? She didn’t even come to classes anymore. It was just a fucking broken ankle, and she’d snatched that chance to stay at home as much as she could. Even though she would never admit. Even though she had acted strong and arrogant and fearless.</p><p> </p><p>They all knew.</p><p> </p><p>She was scared.</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa’s phone suddenly vibrated. For two seconds only. And it didn’t take him more than that to fish the phone out of his costume pocket.</p><p> </p><p>Hah… Speaking of the Devil…</p><p> </p><p>It was a notification from the private group chat the club was having. Without Minji-sunbaenim. Their leader just wouldn’t approve this kind of gossiping behind others’ back. Without Seungyeon, too. She was just an alternative, after all…</p><p> </p><p>And without Hongbin, naturally. The group had been there <em>thanks </em>to him and his beloved buddies, hadn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“So… He’s dead too?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Doyeon surely wasn’t into beating around the bush, but that wasn’t the only reason why Seonghwa was frowning. Youngjo was really nosy. Like, seriously. Maybe he was the only one who was calm enough to even text to their broken ankle clubmate to inform her about their current situation here.</p><p> </p><p>Seunghee and Yujin were still too shock and scared, and Yonghoon-sunbaenim, clearly, too worried for Minji-sunbaenim to mind their unread messages, but Youngjo had noticed his vibrating phone. But he didn’t type anything in response. Seonghwa didn’t, either.</p><p> </p><p>The bubble with an ellipsis was still blinking.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Any idea when’s Jeon Jiwoo’s turn?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Youngjo was able to remain his poker face, but Seonghwa was kind of startled. Normally, Doyeon was pretty easy going, but… Yeah… Thinking about it, why did he have to be so surprised at her reaction here?</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t help but letting out a heavy sigh. Anyone could have reacted this way, if they had been rumoured to be a dirty slut, robbed, nearly got beaten, but still publicly humiliated like she had been through. Still a big deal to overcome, even if it had only lasted for a month or so.</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t really matter, even when she had got enough nerves to swing the knife she’d hid under her skirt uniform, scare the shit out of them, and tell them to, well, he quoted, “Fucking leave me alone.”.</p><p> </p><p>The fear had been there. Carved deeply in her head. To the point that despite Seonghwa’s admiration of her guts, she was still slightly shaking whenever she’d met Kim Chanmi, Lee Hongbin and Jeon Jiwoo, no matter if they had directly dug their hand in the mud or not.</p><p> </p><p>The three of them… Rich, spoiled, egocentric and sharing the same thought of being superior, all three were smart enough to stay behind in the dark, enjoyed being the leaders to order their gangs around rather than getting themselves in doing the dirty jobs.</p><p> </p><p>Bastards and decent brains were never a good combination, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>The phone in his hand vibrated, again. It was Youngjo’s message this time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Wanna come and see for yourself? Or r u already here?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Seonghwa could almost sense Doyeon sneering from the other side of the phone screen.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I’ll come near those scumbags when Hell freezes all over.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Being in the same club with one of them is enough, tyvm.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He shifted his gaze toward Youngjo. Still the emotionless face that always made Seonghwa wonder what was running through that brain of his. Then he put the phone back to his pocket, before focusing on the spinner on his free hand, again.</p><p> </p><p>So no more comment coming from him.</p><p> </p><p>But there was still something coming from Doyeon, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Not that I mind if they can just be fucking dead, tho…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Seonghwa didn’t reply. For a future actress, Doyeon was still… naïve. Straightforward. Easy to understand. And never knew how to lie. She would never be able to survive in the showbiz, but he couldn’t care less. His own mind was a fucking big mess, and he didn’t really want to stick his nose into something he wasn’t able to control. Or change. Or fix.</p><p> </p><p>Besides…</p><p> </p><p>“Why is it so noisy outside?”</p><p> </p><p>Yujin raised her head, elegant eyebrows knitted into a straight line. The uncertainty was like a poison, and yet, he didn’t know where it was injected first. Maybe started from the visibly nervousness from those faces of the police staying with them. Or maybe started from one of them, being befogged by not knowing what the hell was going on.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know…”</p><p> </p><p>Seunghee bit her lower lips, her gaze fixed on the quiet discussion among those police officers. Their faces changed from surprised to stony in a matter of second, and before any of them could react, most of them had run to somewhere else, except for one stayed behind, looked extremely reluctant to be here.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on?”</p><p> </p><p>Yonghoon-sunbaenim asked on their behalf, but just as expected, the police officer just smiled, a terrible attempt at reassuring them to calm down, if that faked lip curl could be considered an assuring smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing. Just be calm, and stay at where you are, that’s all…”</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa didn’t have to look around to know no one was buying this obvious lie. Some of them might want to protest and urge on to know what happened, but…</p><p> </p><p>Not him.</p><p> </p><p>His phone had just vibrated, and he had to concentrate on that small piece of info.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Oh, nvm. I’ve just seen her Facebook post.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Read it. Sounds like a half-hearted joke, but anw…” *insert link*</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>It took him less than two seconds to open it up, and…</p><p> </p><p>The further he scrolled down, the wider his mouth opened. Jesus Christ’s sake… What the hell…?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“The police are a real deal, aren’t they?”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Now he could even sense the corner of Doyeon’s captivating lips curled up in satisfaction.</p><p> </p><p><em>“They’ve done us a </em>really <em>big favour here.” </em></p><p>--------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yoohyeon was running as if her life was depending on how fast she could move her legs. The same applied to her brain cogs and gears as well. They had been working non-stop, considering every possible probability, and…</p><p> </p><p>Damn it, why did it have to be so many? And so many questions she still got neither time nor clue to answer all of it?</p><p> </p><p>Had anybody known of Lee Siyeon being capable of writing songs? <em>Beautiful </em>songs, even? Had anybody known of her works? If just looking at her SoundCloud account, then the answer was no. She had no followers, and all the songs, or demo files, or samples, or whatever they were called, were set into ‘Only me’. Besides, Lee Siyeon had been a loner. No friends, no encounters, no enemies, no one, but that just made the tall girl come back to the main point of the whole case.</p><p> </p><p>Had the girl <em>really </em>been a loner? Okay, sure, she’d had a Kim Bora, who hadn’t showed up even until now, as a friend, or ex-friend, or whatever, but…</p><p> </p><p>Here? At Jung Dok High? Had she truly been alone like they said?</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t answer that. There were lots of evidences indicating that there was no one knowing about the girl, but… They weren’t… solid, so to speak, which opened up two completely different probability.</p><p> </p><p>If the answer was no, then…</p><p> </p><p>Of course, who and how were the first two questions popping up in her head, but reluctantly, there was another matter, more urgent one, that she needed to put her focus on rather than answering those twos. Considering how well the killer had hid his identity and relationship with Lee Siyeon? How reckless he had been to arrogantly kill someone among the protection of the police?</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo was obviously in danger. Great danger, even.</p><p> </p><p>But if Lee Siyeon had been a real loner… Then it was a total different story.</p><p> </p><p>Sure, Kim Chanmi and Lee Hongbin had been two out of three instigators behind the whole bullying thing, but if the poor girl had had no one, or in this case, no one would go as far as killing for revenge (thank you Park Seonghwa), so lonely that she’d even committed suicide, then vengeance wasn’t a valid motive. Not anymore.</p><p> </p><p>Which meant beneficial motives were left to be considered, and if that was the case…</p><p> </p><p>Then who would benefit the most out of Kim Chanmi’s and Lee Hongbin’s deaths?</p><p> </p><p>That question had been left unanswered since forever. Apparently, those two deaths brought about more troubles rather than merits for almost everyone, from the board committees to a normal student, which was partly why this possibility was thrown to the back of Yoohyeon’s head. But she hadn’t totally eliminated it. There was no reason to, even when she’d discovered the relation between Lee Siyeon and this case.</p><p> </p><p>But now… After hearing the very first note of the original version of ‘Paradise Lost’? That question wasn’t a big mystery anymore.</p><p> </p><p>Looking at the dates, listening to the song sung by Lee Siyeon, and comparing it to Kim Chanmi’s version, it was too obvious that Jeon Jiwoo had stolen the piece. And if she added the fact that Kim Chanmi, Lee Hongbin and Jeon Jiwoo used to hang out together? It wouldn’t be weird if those two knew the hidden truth behind ‘Paradise Lost’, would it? Besides… The three of them had bullied someone to her death…</p><p> </p><p>The only two knowing those truths were now dead. The dead didn’t talk. Jeon Jiwoo’s secret would be a secret forever. That bitch, clearly, was the only one benefiting from Kim Chanmi’s and Lee Hongbin’s deaths.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>They were supposed to look for someone right-handed, someone was allowed to get inside the waiting room, clearly knew the plot of the play, yet knew nothing about props and backstage activities. And if she added the fact that the killer might hold a personal grudge toward Minji-sunbaenim…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t help but thinking about the time when the elder’d taught that bitch a lesson in the old theatre auditorium.</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo, oddly, coincidently, and perfectly fitted to her own description of this Full Moon Killer guy. How on Earth could she not think of that before? How on Earth did she have to wait until now to realise that?</p><p>
  
</p><p>And whatever the case, whether it was Jeon Jiwoo being in danger, or that bitch was the real killer behind these two deaths… Finding her wasn’t a should anymore. It was a must, and…</p><p> </p><p>Damn it… Had she seen her since Hongbin’d been stabbed? Or had she seen her today? Had she seen her somewhere else in the auditorium? Or the backstage? Why couldn’t she recall her face, her frame, or even her back anywhere?</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>In one of the two probabilities… There was one, or no, if she thought about it further, then <em>both </em>of those possibilities could lead to that very unwanted result.</p><p> </p><p>Jeon Jiwoo’s death.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was panting hard. Her heart was pounding like crazy. Her ears were ringing because of the blood rush. Her legs, her lungs, her whole body started to protest. But she didn’t dare slowing down. The school studio was her best bet. She’d tried to call Yuri-unnie and asked about that bitch, but the elder hadn’t pick up. Which made her even more anxious, and the fact that she was constantly being in that uneasy state after Binnie’d woken her up didn’t help.</p><p> </p><p>And unfortunately, Dongie, looking like she would never run no matter how late it would be, was actually running right next to her did nothing to calm her down.</p><p> </p><p>She, or maybe, they, just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>They weren’t late.</p><p> </p><p>They were very, <em>very</em>, late.</p><p> </p><p>The police tapes had been hung. It was like being hit with a mace, right in the chest. It wasn’t as strong as Lee Hongbin’s death, but…</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie coincidently walked out of the scene, and of course, noticed Dongie and her nearly right after that. The calculating look in her eyes landed on the younger softened after a few seconds, but she didn’t say anything else. Neither of them needed to ask. Neither of them needed to speak anything. Why did they need to repeat some obvious fact? What for?</p><p> </p><p>But then, when Yoohyeon slowly caught up with her own breath and walked toward the scene, she still blurted out, her voice was weak, mixed with her panting, and hardly audible.</p><p> </p><p>“Is she…?”</p><p> </p><p>Clenching her jaws, her unnie nodded, and the tall girl wasn’t sure if it was to confirm the person inside was Jeon Jiwoo, or to tell her that Jeon Jiwoo was truly dead. But maybe it wasn’t important. They were both correct, she didn’t need to ask furthermore.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was paralysed in her spot. The feeling of an utter defeat invaded her chest, one part stuck on her lungs, inflated into a big balloon choking her from the inside, while another part transformed into thorns, gluing to her heart, hammering on her ribcage with each and every beat it pounded.</p><p> </p><p>So… That was it?</p><p> </p><p>Kim Chanmi, Lee Hongbin, now, even Jeon Jiwoo, the last one standing, had also fallen?</p><p> </p><p>In just more than an hour… Oh God… What had just happened?</p><p> </p><p>“My subordinate lost her sight after Lee Hongbin was killed.” Yuri-unnie’s voice sounded muffled. As if there was a patch suddenly blocked all the noise coming from the surroundings to her ears. “I think she sneaked away when all the attention was on stage, right before I ordered my team to secure all the gates…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon, finally, was able to blink to respond to the officer’s words. What she’d said made total sense, but…</p><p> </p><p>“How…?” The younger meekly stuttered. “I mean, when did you guys find her? How could it be so fast?”</p><p> </p><p>“He informed me after you left for a few minutes.” Gritting her teeth, the officer slightly shook her head in disappointment. “We tried to find her in the crowd, which was really stupid and nothing more than a waste of time.” Folding her arms, she was obviously trying to suppress another heavy sigh. “When we went up here, five twenty-one p.m., she’s already dead. Unsavable. Joohyun had gone back to the hospital morgue, so she’s just started examine the body now…”</p><p> </p><p>The younger opened her mouth, but nothing came out eventually. Five twenty. Not even half an hour after Lee Hongbin’s death. If Jeon Jiwoo had actually been killed… Then what the hell? Why did he have to be so rushed this time? And if it wasn’t a murder…</p><p> </p><p>Was it all pre-planned?</p><p> </p><p>If it wasn’t… Then what the heck made her committed suicide that fast?</p><p> </p><p>“Unnie, what’s the cause of her death?”</p><p> </p><p>“Poisoned.” The emotions occupying her unnie’s eyes were too complicated for her to understand. “She puked so much that I can’t confirm which type, and Joohyun needed to do the autopsy to officially confirm, but there’s a plastic capsule bottle fell out from her backpack. Smells like almond. Pretty distinctive for…”</p><p> </p><p>“Cyanide?”</p><p> </p><p>“Highly likely.” She nodded. “Maybe she put the crystalised cyanide into the capsules. There’s a small desiccant in that bottle too.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon couldn’t help but frowning. So… It was all pre-planned or what? But… No, that wasn’t the point. She still felt like there were so many missing pieces of this goddamn puzzle, and jumping into the conclusion right now would never be wise. Her eyes moved to the scene behind the tape. She had to see it, all by herself. Not that she didn’t trust Yuri-unnie or so, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Unnie, can I…?”</p><p> </p><p>The request died on her throat, right at the moment Taeyeon-unnie’s familiar small frame entered her field of vision; her eyes widened, clearly surprised. Her sister? What was she doing here? Wasn’t she not allowed to take this case because of her? Why was she…?</p><p> </p><p>The atmosphere between the four of them was kind of heavy somehow. She had no idea how it could be so still and quiet. Weren’t there four of them? Why did it have to be <em>this </em>suffocating?</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not taking this case, don’t worry.” Her elder sister decided to break the ice. “Just passing by a bit to see for myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon bit her lower lip. Well, that wasn’t too reassuring to hear, and didn’t ease her tensed nerves much. Taeyeon-unnie had been objecting her sticking her nose into this case since the beginning. With her presence here… How could she ask Yuri-unnie to let her sneak into the crime scene? How could she get her hands on the clues? How could she catch this bastard? And if she couldn’t catch this bastard… Then how could she save Minji-sunbaenim now?</p><p> </p><p>By the way… did her sister just glare at her girlfriend instead of her?</p><p> </p><p>And… Well, Yuri-unnie didn’t say anything, but the two of them were having that kind of silent conversation as usual. Some headshakes, glares, shrugs, then finished with Taeyeon-unnie’s heavy sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you really have to follow this one till the end?”</p><p> </p><p>To the tallest’s dismay, that was all her unnie had to ask. And her voice wasn’t harsh or annoyed. Even her expression. There were worries and reluctance, for sure, but…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon spotted it, too. Some kind of indescribable softness in the way her sister was looking at her, and surprisingly, she didn’t feel… pressured anymore. Like the rock on her shoulders had been lifted after such a long, long time heavily pressing on her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“I know you don’t approve it, but…” She nodded, a firm one this time. “Yes, unnie, I do.”</p><p> </p><p>Another moment of silence. Taeyeon-unnie looked like she wished for nothing but Yoohyeon changing her mind, but after one more sigh…</p><p> </p><p>“Wear those.” She suddenly threw a pair of gloves and a pair of shoe covers to her, with a bunch of rubber bands. Wait, since when did her sister hold all of those? And how could she not notice them in the first place? “And tie these around your feet.”</p><p> </p><p>But none of those petty questions mattered. Yoohyeon was shock to the speechless level. And petrified, too. She couldn’t even blink, ‘cause… Looking at her unnie’s disposable vinyl gloves on her tiny hands, her shoe covers, and some rubber bands on her feet… Did her unnie just… agree to let her get into the crime scene?</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you want me to change my mind?”</p><p> </p><p>Her unnie grumpily scolded, conveniently pulled her out of the trance of pleasant surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“No no, of course not, but…” Now she could blink. “… Really? Are you really letting me…?”</p><p> </p><p>“You said it yourself, it’s a must, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon-unnie frowned, but her face turned back to her working mode in just a single heartbeat. Expressionless, sharp, and strict as hell, she monotonously said, almost like giving her subordinate an order, rather than talking to her family member.</p><p> </p><p>“Then rather than having you doing something stupid and accidentally contaminating the crime scene, I prefer letting you in without destroying all the evidences. If you wanna get in there, get in there properly.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall was stunned, but she didn’t dare allowing herself to indulge into that shock state for too long. This was a one-in-a-million chance she could have dreamed of, and even though usually, her sister was a patient type, but… Who knew how fast could she change her mind? So putting on the gloves and shoe covers as fast as she could, the tall girl looked at those rubber bands in incredulity.</p><p> </p><p>“Why these, though?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve seen the first crime scene, how the killer messed us up because he <em>wore </em>shoe covers, too, haven’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh… right… Yoohyeon closed her mouth, and followed Taeyeon-unnie’s suit. That was, indeed, a simple way to distinguish their own shoeprints when entering the crime scene. And this outfit was ridiculous enough for him to stand out if he wore like this in real life, too, so… Seriously. A good method, indeed, so good that she did want to ask why the CSI team hadn’t done this in the first place, but judging the gaze on her unnie’s face…</p><p> </p><p>Maybe she’d better keep it to herself.</p><p> </p><p>Besides…</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you coming with me?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s gaze moved, from Taeyeon-unnie’s unreadable face, to Yuri-unnie’s folding arms. The officer thought about it for a moment. Then, she shook her head, eyes flashed out a really complicated look, but then she just nodded, lips curled up into a kind of… forced smile, if she wasn’t wrong?</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve seen what we wanna see already.” Flinging her head, she dropped her folding arms down. “I personally need some time away from the scene to process all of this in my head. I asked the CSI team to keep it like when we found her, and Joohyun’s still in there, so if there’s anything you wanna ask… Well, I mean, you’ll be fine…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon blinked again. And she was trembling, but not because of fear or whatsoever. Her eyes were tearing up a bit, too. And really, she couldn’t help it, because…</p><p> </p><p>Letting a clumsy sixteen-year-old enter the crime scene seemed pretty irresponsible already, and now… Letting a clumsy sixteen-year-old enter the crime scene <em>without </em>supervision? Extremely irresponsible, of course, that was one thing, but…</p><p> </p><p>Just how much trust must her unnie, no, unnies, have, in her, in a clumsy sixteen-year-old kid who had never done something good enough, to let her do <em>this</em>?</p><p> </p><p>“And you wouldn’t want our opinions clashing with yours.” Taeyeon-unnie added; eyes fixed on her, sharp and strict. “If you have decided that this case is yours, then walk through it on your own. Don’t depend on us. Make decisions by yourself, and take the responsibility for them, that’s the minimum requirement if you wanna take up any cases from now on.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl was speechless.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe human was really funny after all, because… When her sister’d disapproved her to stick her nose in the case, she wasn’t very pleased, but when the CSI actually allowed her to… She suddenly felt… pressured? And somehow… lost? Could she really do it? Could she really find out the true killer’s identity? Where should she even start?</p><p> </p><p>“So… Where are all the guts you had when you told me you have to get into this now?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon raised her head. Taeyeon-unnie might sound sarcastic, but her face… It was unbelievingly soft, filled with care, and… Was it… knowing? Did her sister really know what was running through her head right now, and actually understand it?</p><p> </p><p>“Unnie?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think I can do it?”</p><p> </p><p>The elder seriously considered what she’d asked for a brief moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you see the matters as the matters’ true selves?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon was paralysed for a second.  </p><p> </p><p>The phrase brought back to her a piece of memory. The reason why she kept practicing without consciously realising. The moment that she thought she’d forgotten, now flashed back in her brain, as if it was happening right in front of her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>And she was struck, hard. By the moment she’d heard this phrase, also coming from her sister, for the first time in her life.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“How can you always see through my pranks?” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Her younger self pouted, totally undaunted. And Taeyeon-unnie…</p><p>
  
</p><p><em>“I see the matter as the matter, Hyeonie.” </em>She smiled while gently patting the younger Yoohyeon’s head.<em> “As long as I keep seeing things like that, no one, not even a smart little devil like you, can fool me…”</em></p><p> </p><p>It’d been years since she’d started practicing to observe her surroundings. It’d been years since she’d learnt from her sister’s analysis skills, lost against it countless times, but kept on polishing her skills nevertheless.</p><p> </p><p>And… Smart little devil?</p><p> </p><p>Dang… She couldn’t help but grinning a little. True. She might be nothing comparing to Taeyeon-unnie, but she had been learning from the best of the best, hadn’t she? Why did she have to be so doubtful now? She could have lost to her unnie, sure, but giving up against this killer?</p><p> </p><p>That was actually out of question.</p><p> </p><p>And she didn’t even have to say anything or do anything else, because…</p><p> </p><p>“Then you’ll be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>A fire smouldering in her chest for so long, now roared, burst to every corner of her body.</p><p> </p><p>“Just remember, Hyeonie. The blanker your head is, the better. You don’t have to go and look for something specific. Be a sponge, if you could. Observing them. And no matter what you heard from the lives… Don’t let it get to you. People lie. People aren’t objective. People make mistakes. But evidences don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl cracked out a smile.</p><p> </p><p>If she could be sure of anything about her own sister, she wouldn’t even hesitate to say that her sister was, probably, the most stubborn human being in the whole wide world. But now? From opposing her in the beginning, to the point that she even gave her some advises on the case?</p><p> </p><p>That was a huge effort coming from Taeyeon-unnie, for sure.</p><p> </p><p>“Carved in my head already, Madam Kim.”</p><p> </p><p>And she swore to God, Taeyeon-unnie was even trying so hard to hold back a smile blooming on her lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Then go. Before I change my mind.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon had never fled away that fast in her life. Of course, she knew her unnie was only joking (or maybe not), but…</p><p> </p><p>At least, for the first time since the last month, now, standing in front of the police tape, she’d never felt better.</p><p> </p><p>Closing her eyes, the tall girl deeply inhaled. Her mind was clear. Her thought was blank. And she was calm. There was no fear. There was no pressure. There was no bitterness. There was no rage. Just the thirst to know the one and only truth hidden behind this line.</p><p> </p><p>Where Jeon Jiwoo was waiting for her. To tell her what had happened.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon slowly opened her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>So tell me, Jiwoo…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Were you killed by someone else? </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Or were you really the Full Moon Killer I’m looking for?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Bending under the tape, she entered the crime scene.</p><p> </p><p>She was ready to accept whatever the truth lying underneath this plausible lie.</p><p>----------------------------------------</p><p>“So… You’re not gonna recover this deleted account?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin looked at Gahyeon, stated out another fact the youngest hadn’t said in front of their tallest friend. And of course, she nodded with a shrug; eyes didn’t leave her laptop screen.</p><p> </p><p>“Nope.” The younger gave her a shrug. “I don’t see any point in doing it. Isn’t it better to focus on the current Kim Bora? And trust me unnie, that idiot doesn’t really want me wasting all the time just to confirm an obvious fact herself. She’s just… Well, you know her too well already.”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired hummed in agreement. Yoohyeon was smart, but sometimes, she relied too much on Taeyeon-nim’s way of working. Of course, the CSI had to be a real deal to be at where she was now, but… Different people would be suited for different working way, right? And her bestie…</p><p> </p><p>She definitely wasn’t suited to be that extremely specific or logical, unfortunately. And considering everyone around her, Dongie included, knew that fact… How she still couldn’t realise that remained a big mystery to her, even until now.</p><p> </p><p>“So what are you gonna do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Find that Kim Bora, of course.” Cracking her neck, Gahyeon matter-of-factly said before start typing something Yubin could never follow. “What we have here is a name. A fucking common name even, so I’ll see what I can do… And why are parents so obsessed with violet? Has violet become the National Colour without me knowing about it or what?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin nonchalantly shrugged. “Maybe it’s easy to remember? And it’s cute, too. By the way, what are you doing? Sorry for many incoming stupid questions from me, but I’m completely new to this hacking thing, to be honest…”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, Gahyeon is also cute as fuck, but anyway.” Muttering to herself, the younger still didn’t raise her head. “I’m setting up some programmes… It’ll change our IP address constantly, so at least we’ll have time to erase our traces if someone realises we have messed up something in their territory… Avoid getting caught, sort of…”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait…” The short haired couldn’t help but blinking. “We can get caught?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be daft, of course we can.” Was her matter-of-fact answer. “Not that I’m gonna touch some experts’ field, but we’ll never know for sure… And it’s just an old habit anyway. I don’t like leaving my traces here and there, and… done.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin wasn’t sure if she was shock by the fact that they were risking being caught in a, well, somehow, illegal crime, or she was baffled of Gahyeon’s speed, again. She seemed like a complete different person. Not just she was calmer, but also… How should Yubin put it? Like… some kind of desire?</p><p> </p><p>Maybe the girl felt it, too. The uneasy feeling about something fishy might happen behind Lee Siyeon’s not-so-peculiar suicide.</p><p> </p><p>“Now what?”</p><p> </p><p>“Get a few more toys for this baby of yours…” The girl went back online, typed in some weird and hard to remember website name, as if it was imprinted in her head. “And yes, we can wait a little bit until the install process is done… Luckily, she still had her school’s name on Facebook, so I can try messing around with the school database a little bit…”</p><p> </p><p>And that was enough for the short haired to know the rest. “To access Kim Bora’s personal info?”</p><p> </p><p>Gahyeon nodded for a response, but there was something still bugging Yubin somehow. As far as she remembered…</p><p> </p><p>“But normally, the school doesn’t ask for our personal information when our parents applying for us, does it? How can they have our email or phone number? Aren’t we using school emails when we’re, you know, at school, only?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nope, they don’t have our personal email addresses.” The girl agreed, her finger dancing on the keyboard didn’t even slow down after hearing her question. “And your parents don’t, but some do give their child’s phone number to the school… For better supervision, or some stupid shit like that. And you read those messages, too. Kim Bora’s a trouble maker, I can guarantee you that. Her parents will just wish they could tie her up at home, so it won’t be a shock for me if they just left the number there, ‘trust’ a bunch of strangers to take care of their own daughter so they can mind their own fucking business.”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired remained silent. Her friend’s snigger sounded a little bit too bitter, but what could she say now? It seemed like she was talking about herself rather some person she’d never met before, and her parents weren’t even decent to the least. Giving birth to a child, then ignoring them by putting their responsibility on others?</p><p> </p><p>The younger’s sneer was, sadly, too understandable.</p><p> </p><p>But Gahyeon didn’t let herself be down mood for too long. “And there’s always home address and date of birth, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“And you’re gonna need it to…?”</p><p> </p><p>“To confirm one in a, hopefully, few Facebook accounts we’re gonna dig up belongs to the right Kim Bora.” Briefly stopping for a few clicks, Gahyeon slowly explained. “And see some patterns for her password, too… And I hope we don’t have to go as far as hacking into some Mobile Network company database to figure out a single email address or mobile phone number if we’re <em>that </em>unlucky…”</p><p> </p><p>That had Yubin sweat a little. Holy moly… Did this girl really tend to go that far?</p><p> </p><p>“I did it once, but the amount of work and time, mostly to cover my traces and scan through the whole thing…” The younger shuddered, maybe because of the unwanted memory. “Unacceptable, especially in this situation we’re in… By the way, unnie, can you grab me some paper and a pen? I’m gonna need to scribble down lots of stuff here…”</p><p> </p><p>Still baffled, the short haired followed her order, movement almost automatic. Luckily, Gahyeon didn’t choose to be a real hacker. What she’d said seemed uneasily normal and casual and, well, easy for her to do. And with these skillsets of her?</p><p> </p><p>Damn… She was only fifteen. A few more years of practice, and she could easily be rolling on a mountain of money, for sure. Of course, it had to come with the risk of being caught, but…</p><p> </p><p>Just thinking about it made her edgy as hell. And blessed. At least, the younger didn’t choose the darker path. Besides…</p><p> </p><p>Yubin couldn’t help but glancing at her beautiful side profile. Considering what she had suffered from…</p><p> </p><p>Maybe she wouldn’t be lost after all. Not again. One was more than enough.</p><p> </p><p>The next minutes were quiet. Gahyeon was focusing on her job, scribbling some uninterpretable lines that Yubin assumed to be codes, and crazily typing on her laptop keyboard. Sometimes, she stopped for a moment to have a better look, jumped from this black background window to another black background window, scribbled, then typed, before starting with the same cycle all over again.</p><p> </p><p>Man, hacker’s job looked really tiring… Of course, she knew that they didn’t sweat too much, but still… Fixing her eyes on the screen for that long without taking any break, writing and typing non-stop like this were actually out of question, no doubt.</p><p> </p><p>But it wasn’t very boring. Watching Gahyeon fighting with those codes brought her some kind of… peace, maybe? And relief, too. Obviously, her friend wasn’t all gloomy and depressed and all, but… Seeing her now… It felt like she could finally find something she was good at, and be extremely comfortable around.</p><p> </p><p>No more restraint. No more holding back. She was finally able to be herself after such a long time of running away.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank God…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin was startled. It was just pure coincident, but the girl did say her thought out loud. Anyway, Gahyeon seemed pleased; her eyes widened in a pleasant surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“My seonsaengnim updates and improves his version regularly? Heck, I’ve never remembered this programme to run this smoothly before…” But before Yubin could open her mouth to question, the younger had already moved on. “Anyway, we’re lucky. There’s only three Kim Bora-s among about… uhm… a thousand student going to that school last year.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin cocked an eyebrow. “Three? And how’s that lucky? Are there any photos?”</p><p> </p><p>“No photo, and there’re more Bora-s, but different surnames, so… never mind.” Gahyeon nodded, turned the screen displaying the girl’s profile for her to see. “Besides… I found this, and… This is the one, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh, that…</p><p> </p><p>The short haired didn’t answer, but she was sure her silence was the best answer her friend could have got. Having no photo was a pity, but her date of birth…</p><p> </p><p>The tenth of August. The same date ‘Paradise Lost’ had been posted on Lee Siyeon’s SoundCloud account. Didn’t look like a coincidence, and she was positive that no one would really believe this was, if they had read what Kim Bora and Lee Siyeon had texted to each other in their Facebook earlier.</p><p> </p><p>“But anyway…” Whistling, the younger girl’s lip curled up, painted out a victorious smile. “That was just our <em>first </em>luck.”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin licked her dry lips. Looking at where Gahyeon was moving her mouse pointer in a circle movement, even she could feel the adrenaline rising in her bloodstream, slowly spreading to every corner of her small body, sending shiver down her cold sweated spine.</p><p> </p><p>Kim Bora’s mobile phone number.</p><p> </p><p>The younger’s finger tapped on the table, as if she was warming up, preparing for the incoming intense activities on Yubin’s poor keyboard. “Let see where else you can hide…” Before actually getting to work, her hands danced across the laptop, quickly opened up another program that she couldn’t really understand.</p><p> </p><p>“Some of the users don’t public mobile phone number.” Her friend explained without stopping her current work. “I’ll use my seonsaengnim’s self-developed program. It’s faster this way…”</p><p> </p><p>The short haired nodded, although she wasn’t sure if Gahyeon could actually see it with her eyes fixing on the screen. But it didn’t matter anyway. After seeing how she worked, if she said something was better, Yubin would just blindly believe in it. It was hard not to, anyway…</p><p> </p><p>And this time, she didn’t have to wait for too long. To be honest, she wasn’t surprised about her friend’s speed anymore. As an amateur in computer and IT, even she could find someone’s account using Facebook tool, let alone Gahyeon, a genius, with almost all the programmes she needed to dig someone’s lives up.</p><p> </p><p>“And if I find out her account, then scraping her email is just a piece of…”</p><p> </p><p>To Yubin’s surprise, the girl’s words died down way too fast. She looked shock. Speechlessly shocked. Her eyes dilated, so did her mouth, and the short haired couldn’t really understand why. She looked back to her laptop screen, where the younger had pulled out a Facebook account of a girl. Young. Beautiful. Breath-takingly beautiful, even, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeonnie, what…?”</p><p> </p><p>“I know this girl.”</p><p> </p><p>That confused Yubin even more than she already had. “What?”</p><p> </p><p>“I know who she is.” Gahyeon calmly repeated, before glancing at the clock. “There’s no time…”</p><p> </p><p>In just a blink, her friend’s facial expression had changed when she turned around to look at her, as if she was asking for her approval.</p><p> </p><p>“Unnie… It’s gonna take me at least nine hours with this lap to crack her password without her knowing, so stop me if you think you should, but…”</p><p> </p><p>Yubin couldn’t utter a word. The girl looked curious, incredulous, but most of all, determined. As if she knew exactly what she was doing, and nothing could change her mind from now on. Gave the short haired completely no room to object what she was about to do in the next few minutes.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to steal all of her accounts.” She firmly said. “Now.”</p><p>--------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yoohyeon’s first impression when entering the crime scene was terrible.</p><p> </p><p>She remembered Yuri-unnie’d said Jiwoo’d puked out everything, but the smell of stomach contents was much stronger than what she’d expected. It made her own stomach twisted, and saliva started to form inside her desert-dry mouth, but she tried her best to hold it in.</p><p> </p><p>This body wasn’t even discomposed, for God’s sake.</p><p> </p><p>And she had a good look around. Some CSI were collecting fingerprint samples on several objects. The door, the desk, two chairs, Jeon Jiwoo’s backpack and everything inside, but they hadn’t touched the studio equipment behind where the corpse was lying. Were they waiting for the ME to finish her examination?</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon carefully stepped inside, avoided stepping on the fake nails and the clear plastic case lying here and there; eyes landed on what hadn’t been touched. A large desktop screen stood in between a pair of speakers, all lying behind something like an organ, which she assumed it was a MIDI, and a white desktop keyboard. A pair of worn-out headphones was hung on the mic stand, which wasn’t too far away from another chair placing in front of the keyboards.</p><p> </p><p>She could easily reach both the mic and the headphones if she was sitting on that chair, so… A sign of well-designed, maybe?</p><p> </p><p>And there were one or two speaker monitors (was this the correct name for those black rectangular shaped boxes?) neatly fitted in two drawers of the desk as well. Then she moved her gaze down. A bunch of dusted cables tied together, loosely taped on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>She took a deep breath, but then regretted, almost immediately. The smell of vomit was even stronger here, and…</p><p> </p><p>“Hi.”</p><p> </p><p>Nearly choked while swallowing down her nausea, the tall girl looked at the woman crouching down to examine Jeon Jiwoo’s lifeless body. Seo Joohyun was her name, wasn’t it? She didn’t even look up to meet Yoohyeon’s eyes, but if it was possible, the younger would prefer her not to. There was something in her voice scared her. Sweet, clear, sure, but also… soulless?</p><p> </p><p>“Hi… Erm… Seo-ssi? Or Dr. Seo?”</p><p> </p><p>She shily replied, and the ME finally turned around (oops), which almost made her step back a little. The woman was beautiful, sure, but just like her voice, even her facial features looked… weird. They were somehow… like a machine? It wasn’t even cold. It was too… neutral. Too calm. Too rational. Too monotonous. Almost inhuman, but in a good way.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon didn’t even know that she was holding her breath, not until the woman tilted her head a little and chuckled, interest flashed, for the first time, in her bright brown eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, for someone could make Taeyeon-unnie and Yuri-unnie to fight over in the middle of the day, in front of many people, you’re timider than I think you would be.”</p><p> </p><p>Baffled, the younger couldn’t help but blinking. Her unnies? F-Fighting? What? How? When?</p><p> </p><p>“Joohyun-unnie’s fine, by the way.” The woman continued with a small nod, before turning back to face to corpse. “And I know you might wanna know the details, but I’m having two corpses waiting to be autopsied, so let’s start, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>Swallowing down again, the younger nodded. Well, she didn’t really wanna know about her unnies’ argument to start with, but… Right. No time for that now. So stepping toward the body, she crouched down next to Joohyun… erm… nim; eyes aimed at the half familiar face of the school mate she used to know.</p><p> </p><p>The girl was lying prostrately, her face turned to the right, with her right arm slightly raised near her head. Her left arm, on the other hand, stretched along her other side. And she looked so… different now, even though her features remained the same. Her complexion was dark. Her opened eyes were dull. She couldn’t quite sure what’d been in her head in her very last moment, but…</p><p> </p><p>A string of lament tugged the tall girl’s chest. Somehow, she looked… undaunted? Hurt? Had she truly wanted to die? Had she ever regretted about what she’d done? Or had she been through so much pain that she hadn’t thought about anything else, and Yoohyeon was just imagining all of these?</p><p> </p><p>But anyway… Visualising the dead final moment was, indeed, a stupid move.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so… Jeon Jiwoo, aged sixteen, female.” Luckily, the ME’s cassette-like voice pulled her back to reality. “No visible superficial wounds, abrasions, or puncture wounds of all kind.”</p><p> </p><p>The tall girl’s eyes followed Joohyun-nim’s hands when the woman revealed some places were harder to see. Nape, behind ears, the area near her hair roots, neck, fingertips, hands, knees and thighs. The skin was dark, almost bruise-like, but smooth. All of her fake nails had fallen off, revealed Jeon Jiwoo’s short and uneven nails surface, but other than that, just as the ME said, there were no visibly superficial wounds.</p><p> </p><p>And she might have to say goodbye to any hope of finding something stuck in her fingernails now. They were all too short to be able to keep skin or even dirt of all kind on. Of course, she’d known of her habits since ages, but she never thought it would be this serious.</p><p> </p><p>“There might be some bruises, but we’ll need more time to see.” Joohyun-nim gently put the body back to its original position. “Possible cause of death: poisoned. I’m gonna need to analyse all of her stomach contents here…” Her thin finger pointed at the vomit under their feet, up to the thinly smeared layer of yellowy fluid covering Jeon Jiwoo’s right palm and four of her fingertips. “… combining with autopsy result to know what kind of poison it was.”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon remained silent, and the ME continued after a few seconds of waiting.</p><p> </p><p>“Possible way of being exposed to the poison: digestion.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger nodded this time. Considering there was no wounds, and killing through skin absorption would be too complicated, she was agreeing with the ME’s assumption anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“What about her possible time of death, Joohyun-nim?”</p><p> </p><p>“Her liver temperature was approximately 35.7 degrees Celsius.” The ME slightly shook her head. “So no more than forty-five minutes. I can give you a closer timing, but only after the autopsy…”</p><p> </p><p>Nodding, Yoohyeon looked at her phone. The current time was five forty-two p.m. That was enough for her brain to build up several scenarios. So far, pieces had started to fall into their places. But…</p><p> </p><p>Still too many missing. She needed more than just these.</p><p> </p><p>And that was when her eyes caught it. Jeon Jiwoo’s phone, with the screen facing up, lying not too far away from her dead body. Black and reflective like a mirror, clean enough for her to see her own reflection on it with no trouble or so. She had to stop there for a moment. Some scenarios were eliminated thanks to this, but…</p><p> </p><p>Her eyebrows were knitted into a straight line. Why? Or no, not why, but…</p><p> </p><p>What for?</p><p> </p><p>Or…</p><p> </p><p>Ok, actually, that could be it, but…</p><p> </p><p>Right. Bye bye one possibility.</p><p> </p><p>“Uhm, excuse me.” Grabbed the nearest CSI, who was still busy with the fingerprint collecting, she asked, not even realised that her own grip was too strong that it actually hurt. “Can you describe the scene when you arrived for me please? Like where was this desk, this chair, and everything else?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, careful with that.” Wincing, the guy moved his hand away to not spilling more fingerprint collecting white powder on the floor. “And what do you mean? We haven’t moved anything…”</p><p> </p><p>“Even it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon pointed at the black backpack in the hand of his colleague. He remained silent for a few seconds, before…</p><p> </p><p>“Fine, we moved something.” Muttering, he reluctantly admitted. “We had to, but okay, it was lying next to that desk, lid opened, and nothing else…”</p><p> </p><p>So that meant the whole scene was exactly like this. Desk and chairs lined up straight. Only made her eyebrow furrow even harder.</p><p> </p><p>“What about the capsule bottle Yuri-unnie was talking about? Where was it? Was there any fingerprint on it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was inside the backpack, and yes, one set of fingerprints, from eight fingers, if you counted both the lid and the bottle itself, and before you ask, yes, they belong to the victim.” Irritatingly, he looked down to his forearm, where her hand was grabbing at. “And kid, can you please let me…?”</p><p> </p><p>Slowly loosening her grip, Yoohyeon blinked. Okay, so that was one more hypothesis down for good, and conveniently confirmed her thought, but…</p><p> </p><p>Back to her original question mark…</p><p> </p><p>How…?</p><p> </p><p>Anxiously walking back and forth, the tall girl pressed her lips into a thin white line. Did she miss something else? Were there any other missing pieces? There had to be, right? And why the heck were they there? They shouldn’t be, should they? No, if considering that phone…</p><p> </p><p>And yet they were.</p><p> </p><p>Then how could that be?</p><p> </p><p>So far, it still didn’t make any sense to her. Not a single thing in this room made any sense to her. As if there were…</p><p> </p><p>Wait…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon stopped moving around. Another possibility struck her, so hard that she was petrified in the middle of a crime scene filled with the smell of vomit.</p><p> </p><p>Why was she even assuming…?</p><p> </p><p>Jesus Christ’s sake… If she just grouped them…</p><p> </p><p>Tapping her finger on her bitten lip, she started to consider the thought one more time. That was so out of the blue. It even sounded crazy in the first place, even, but… It… made sense? What the fuck…?</p><p> </p><p>Weren’t there…? Did she…? No, that didn’t fit, but…</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>No?</p><p> </p><p>But then…</p><p> </p><p>She carefully looked around. Bending to even see places in different angles, so she wouldn’t miss anything. No water bottle. No food traces. No trash. And even if there were…</p><p> </p><p>No, it just simply couldn’t. That didn’t… Then maybe…?</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me.” She grabbed any CSI, who was collecting evidences from the MIDI set. “Are there any traces of poison anywhere in this room?”</p><p> </p><p>“What? No, of course not.” Baffled but still smiling, the guy generously answered. “She swallowed the capsule with the poison, didn’t she? But regardless, we did check, or else Madam Kim would just skin us alive, so yeah, I can confirm, there aren’t any…”</p><p> </p><p>So one more down, Yoohyeon bit her lower lip. But that didn’t make a lot of sense to her again. Now, she had to turn back to the first possibility, but…</p><p> </p><p>It was nonsense. That would be super weird, and for now, she didn’t think anyone could eat or drink anything in that state… Or… Had she been calm? Nah, that couldn’t be. Weren’t her stomach contents all fluids? Right, that wasn’t valid. Couldn’t be. If Jiwoo’d been anxious enough, then…</p><p> </p><p>Wait… Why didn’t she…?</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>The excitement of realisation sent shiver down to Yoohyeon’s spine. Damn it. It was so clear. Fucking clear, even. How could she miss that? It was right in front of her eye, and she…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Taeyeon, where’s Yuri?” A middle-aged man called out from her back. “We’re gonna bring the victim’s personal belongings back to the lab, do you wanna ask if she wants to re-check all of these before we go? There’re not so many, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, can I have a look, too?”</p><p> </p><p>The man was obviously surprised. Yoohyeon did know that it wasn’t either polite or respectful of her to jump into someone’s words under any circumstances, but she couldn’t think that much now. There was something she needed to see for herself. There was something she needed to confirm her crazy theory running in her head. The craziest, yes, the most improbable, true, but also the most possible theory she could pull off.</p><p> </p><p>“Er… Sure?” Putting the box in hand down, the man hesitantly said after receiving Taeyeon-unnie’s nod. “Here…”</p><p> </p><p>Throwing herself forward, the tall girl tried her best to carefully take out every piece of evidences the CSI team had collected with a very specific item she needed in mind.</p><p> </p><p>And it took her less than ten seconds to see it.</p><p> </p><p>Inside a clear zip lock bag with a number written by permanent marker on the surface. The clear, palm-size plastic case with joints, coated with a white powder for fingerprint collecting purpose. The powder was focused around the lock, the joints, and underneath the bottom piece near the lock.</p><p> </p><p>This…</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon blinked, non-stop. Why did it look so similar to…? Why did it…?</p><p> </p><p>Wait… Wasn't it…?</p><p> </p><p>Then the thought shook her to the core.</p><p> </p><p>What the…? It was too crazy. No, that… The theory was getting crazier and crazier, in a way that she had never expected. But… How could it be? It was impossible. It wasn’t… No, she was just being conceited and stupid and wrong, wasn’t she?</p><p> </p><p>There must be something to prove her being wrong.</p><p> </p><p>So she kept on looking with a nauseous feeling churning in her stomach. She wanted to blame it all on Jiwoo’s vomit behind, but…</p><p> </p><p>Jesus…</p><p> </p><p>The more she searched, the more dreadful she felt. Like a monster slowly growing inside her chest, creeping under her skin, releasing some kind of poison to her chest, injecting it in her blood, letting the deadly toxin gradually spread to every corner of her body.</p><p> </p><p>Facial mist spray… Thinly scattered with white powder.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Zipped wallet… Dusted with white powder.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Lip balm… No white powder at all.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Pen case… Thinly scattered with white powder.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Please…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Silver Bose headphone… No white powder at all.</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>No, shit, no…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>And the last piece.</p><p> </p><p>The blue notebook was thinly scattered with white powder, too.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>No no no no no…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Yoohyeon’s eyes dilated. Her hands were shivering so hard, that she almost dropped the piece of evidence in her hand. Even the lump she was so familiar with started to form, equipped its surface with a handful of spikes, slowly stopped the air to come into her throat, and tore her chest apart when she tried to swallow it down.</p><p> </p><p>No… What the…? That… No, she must be wrong… It must be wrong…</p><p> </p><p>Suppressing her shaky hands, she opened the evidence bag despite the disapproval of the CSI man, fished the notebook out, and flipped it open.</p><p> </p><p>Blank. Blank. Blank. Blank.</p><p> </p><p>Just like her head. Just like her chest. Just like her mind.</p><p> </p><p>It was nothing but a blank notebook.</p><p> </p><p>That… How…?</p><p> </p><p>“Hyeonie? Hyeonie? Are you ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon dully turned around. Her own sister’s face and voice seemed like a blurry mess, so much that she had to muster every single ounce of efforts she had to focus on what the elder was talking about.</p><p> </p><p>“Hyeonie?”</p><p> </p><p>Just her name?</p><p> </p><p>It seemed like she had been calling her for a while. <em>Worriedly </em>calling her for a while. And she only realised that when her sister held her shoulders, and gave it a good shake. Yoohyeon wanted to answer her. She swore to God, she wanted to answer her so bad, but her body just refused to do anything, even a simple task like that. She didn’t feel like talking. She didn’t feel like answering. She didn’t feel like moving a muscle.</p><p> </p><p>She was just desperate for something, one thing, anything, to prove her wrong.</p><p> </p><p>It was too early to give up, wasn’t it? There was no solid proof. There was no…</p><p> </p><p>“Hey…”</p><p> </p><p>Yuri-unnie was back. Did the elder figure out something else? Why did she look so sad? Why did she look at her so hesitantly? Why didn’t she say anything?</p><p> </p><p>Why? Why? Why?</p><p> </p><p>“Is it true? What you texted me earlier?” was Taeyeon-unnie’s question. Dongie seemed to be the only one who didn’t understand anything, but Yoohyeon couldn’t care about that at the moment. Just by looking at her, and she knew.</p><p> </p><p>They were talking about the same thing running in her head.</p><p> </p><p>She just didn’t know she was holding her own breath, waiting for an answer.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Reluctantly, her unnie nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Felt like the ground was crashing under her own feet. She didn’t even know how she could stand still like she was right now. Her knees were trembling, her whole body was shaking, and for a brief moment, she just wished she could have given up.</p><p> </p><p>But a rational part of her brain reminded her of one thing.</p><p> </p><p>There were two unanswered mysteries left, and one of them would be her last fragile string of hope.</p><p> </p><p>Her only possible light at the end of the tunnel.</p><p> </p><p>“Can…”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon cleared her throat. Her voice was weak, hoarse, and strange to her own ears.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you guys come with me?”</p><p> </p><p>Taeyeon-unnie and Yuri-unnie immediately nodded. Even Dongie, who looked dreadfully worried and had absolutely no clues, also did the same, and realising that gave her a good dose of courage.</p><p> </p><p>Which was what she desperately needed, right.now.</p><p> </p><p>So with her unnies and friend behind, her legs could finally move forward.</p><p> </p><p>Heading to the old theatre backstage.</p><p> </p><p>Where Kim Chanmi had been killed nearly a month ago.</p><p>----------------------------------------------------</p><p>Handong didn’t think of herself as a stupid person, but considering what’d been happening until now…</p><p> </p><p>Yeah, maybe she was stupid.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t understand what was going on. She couldn’t understand what Yuri-nim and Taeyeon-nim was silently discussing ealier. She couldn't understand why Yoohyeon looked like she didn’t have any other wish but to disappear forever. She couldn’t understand why the girl wanted to come back to this old theatre all of a sudden. She couldn’t understand what the small piece of luminous tape on a single rope among thousands of ropes hung all over the backstage meant. She couldn’t understand why Taeyeon-nim looked like she wanted to kill someone so bad, and she couldn’t quite understand why Yuri-nim looked so angry, but more like at herself rather than anybody else here.</p><p> </p><p>And she didn’t like being left in vague. </p><p> </p><p>Yet, she had allowed herself to be left in vague for more than four stupid hours.</p><p> </p><p>But in the meantime, she couldn’t think of anything else to do. Asking anyone in the three of them was really out of question. Going home wasn't even considered a proper choice, and the fact that her hunch was still working did nothing to calm her edginess down, of course.</p><p> </p><p>The result wasn’t good, by the way. Her alarm system kept on ringing since forever, but just like the time when Kim Chanmi’d been dead, she didn’t know where or what, not to mention stopping it from ringing.</p><p> </p><p>And Gahyeon’s phone call didn’t make it better. Not at all.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I tried to call that idiot for a while, and she didn’t pick it up.” The younger’s voice sounded urgent somehow. “Is she ok? Did something happen?”</p><p> </p><p>“Something did happen, but I’m not too sure…” The Chinese reluctantly admitted, but quickly pushed her own incredulity and displease aside. “But she’s fine…” She briefly stopped. “… sort of. Do you wanna talk to her?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, just put her on the phone for me.” The younger quickly said, clearly in a hurry before mumbling non-stop. “Shit… I can’t believe it… This is really out of my imagination… I can’t fucking believe it… Yup, very important to this fucking case indeed…”</p><p> </p><p>“Can I turn the speakers on?” She cut off her friend’s rantings. “There’re Taeyeon-nim and Yuri-nim here with her, too…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup, sure, no problem.”</p><p> </p><p>Handong gave out a heavy sigh. She really wanted to ask her what was unbelievable, but decided to hold herself up eventually. This was getting more and more annoying, and she did want to explode with all the worry and lost and not understanding anything, but…</p><p> </p><p>Nothing could be kept a secret forever, couldn’t it?</p><p> </p><p>Besides… Her eyes fixed on Yoohyeon, who’d just landed safely on the ground after her second trial with… that thing.</p><p> </p><p>Damn it…</p><p> </p><p>At least she understood one thing, now.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoo.” Gently calling out, she held the phone toward her friend. “Gahyeon’s call. She’d found something relating to this case.” She couldn’t miss their attention to the small device on her hand almost immediately. “I’ve put it on speakers already.”</p><p> </p><p>Swallowing down her invisible lump, her friend slowly grabbed the phone from her and nodded, her movement was somehow jerky, and… automatic?</p><p> </p><p>“Gahyeonie, I’m…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Yoo, damn, you won't believe what I've found here...” The younger cut her off before she could utter more than one word. “I'm just gonna go straight to the point to avoid wasting more time, but damn it… Kim Bora was here!”</p><p> </p><p>Blinking, Handong froze to her spot. What the…? Okay, it wasn’t a big deal for that girl to come here, but… How did Gahyeon know it? It wasn’t like that girl had checked-in at Jung Dok High on her Facebook, was it?</p><p> </p><p>And she got what she’d asked for just a second later.</p><p> </p><p>“I bumped into her today…” The younger painfully groaned. “Fuck, it was her. The Facebook account name is Kim SuA, but they had the same birthday, same surname, and the fucking same phone number. There’s no way for you to buy a sim card without registering now, right? And her profile picture is exactly the same with the girl I bumped into today, at this Festival, too.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese was speechless. Her gaze moved around in nervousness, and…</p><p> </p><p>She had to suppress a shudder in the spine.</p><p> </p><p>All three of them… Their expression was… unreadable, which surprised the Chinese even more than the piece of information Gahyeon’d announced a few seconds ago did. They didn’t even look baffled. As if they were expecting thing to turn out in this way for a long, long time ago already.</p><p> </p><p>... Really? What the hell...? </p><p> </p><p>“But hey, that’s not all…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong raised her eyebrow. There was more? Must be something big, because…</p><p> </p><p>She could even sense Gahyeon’s excitement leaking from the other side of the line.</p><p> </p><p>“I stole all of her accounts to have a wee look…”</p><p> </p><p>And?</p><p> </p><p>“And in her Twitter inbox… Guess who she's been texting to?"</p><p> </p><p>Dear God, who? Handong nearly bit her own nails because of anticipation. Why did this girl have to be this dramatic? Couldn't she just go straight to the point already?</p><p> </p><p>"Jeon Jiwoo."</p><p> </p><p>The name called out from the other side of the line widened the Chinese's eyes to the fullest. What…? How…? What the heck was actually going in here?</p><p> </p><p>"Asking about time to meet at ‘old place’, and that’s a quotation for you…”</p><p> </p><p>That just added another 'What' to her pile of unanswered questions.</p><p> </p><p>“Like seriously, what the fuck?” Gahyeon excitedly spoke on Handong’s behalf. “I can’t even see how these two bitches knew each other… How do they even…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, Gahyeonnie, thanks a lot.” It was Yoohyeon’s turn to curtly cut her friend off this time. “Sorry, I think I gotta go now…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I guess I'll steal Jeon Jiwoo's account, too, to see what's going on between her and Kim Bora… Maybe I'll find out something more than this, but yeah, you should be hurry, if you wanna get to this Kim Bora. I bet she’s not back to Daegu yet…” The younger seemed to nod on the other side of the line. “I mean, it’s normal, right? I’ve just seen that stupid confession on Jeon Jiwoo’s Facebook, too… Did that bitch die at five? 'Cause the post was uploaded at one or two minutes past five… So if she's dead, then after all of this, wouldn’t Kim Bora wanna tell her that everything’s over? Or a last visit or something? I know it’s nearly ten already, but really, she could be there, right? At…”</p><p> </p><p>“The cemetery.”</p><p> </p><p>This time, Handong was able to be one of the four finishing Gahyeon’s word.</p><p> </p><p>“Lee Siyeon’s grave.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chinese lifted her head up, and moved her gaze from Taeyeon-nim to Yuri-nim, before landing it on Yoohyeon, and stopped. There was something complicated in her eyes, something that she couldn’t quite interpret when the girl muttered a quiet thank, hung up the call and returned the phone to her, but…</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t see any incredulity in it. No more wondering. No more questions.</p><p> </p><p>“So…”</p><p> </p><p>Only a firm answer to the final truth.</p><p> </p><p>“All mysteries… have been cleared up…”</p><p> </p><p>Handong didn’t doubt that.</p><p> </p><p>But she wasn’t totally doubt-free, because…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Why Yoohyeon? Why? </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>Why do you look so… </em>broken<em> like that? </em></p><p>---------------------------------------------</p><p>Sucking in a long breath of smoke, they looked at the picture on the grave. They didn’t dare blinking. As if if they had blinked, the image of her would have disappeared for good.</p><p> </p><p>The girl in the picture didn’t smile. But it was understandable. She had never been so happy to smile even a little, hadn’t she?</p><p> </p><p>Or even if she had… It must have happened in a long, long time ago…</p><p> </p><p>Too long for people to know that was her lying at least three feet underneath the ground, if they’d chosen that old smiling one to be her picture on the grave.</p><p> </p><p>Why hadn’t they taken more photos of her smiling before?</p><p> </p><p>Why had they had to wait until now to regret about that?</p><p> </p><p>They sucked in another puff of smoke. The sudden invasion of it was attacking their lungs, choking their throat, before mercilessly tearing their chest into million pieces.</p><p> </p><p>It was cold. The wind was blowing, so hard that despite the small fleck lit on the tip of their cigarette, their body was still shivering.</p><p> </p><p>From the temperature outside their skin. From the ice inside their chest.</p><p> </p><p>They looked at her. Her image was blurred behind the smoke. But it was ok.</p><p> </p><p>They could light up something else. To finish whatever left to be done.</p><p> </p><p>The quiet air was broken with a rustling sound. They fished out a crumpled ball of paper, spread it flat, and read those beautiful printed words once again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘How does it feel? Bearing pressure of having to be successful? Losing your passion, your confidence? Carrying the weight of you not being good enough? I don’t know about you, but I felt so angry. So trapped. Lost. And hopeless. So did Hongbin. And Chanmi, too. Maybe that’s why we lashed all our anger on some of you? I don’t know. That time just gave me some sort of relief after everything my parents have been pressuring on me, after seeing my own limit at something I used to be the best. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I swear to God, forcing someone to commit suicide wasn’t my intention. Or Hongbin’s. Or Chanmi’s. We were living in fear, and carrying along ourselves the weight of guiltiness. It was so heavy, so suffocating, and I could only handle it because I’ve used to turning everything into anger, and yes, it’s coward of me, it’s unfair of you, but releasing my anger on some of you was the only way for me to keep my mind sane. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>But not for Chanmi. The weight of guilt was killing her, to the point that she wanted to confess to the police of her crime, our crime, to set her soul in peace. But that was for her. I didn’t know confessing could bring me peace. I didn’t think there would be anything could bring me peace. I thought her confession would only bring me and Hongbin down. So I got panicked. I tried to stop her. I sent three threats on Lee Siyeon’s Lunar death day for Chanmi and Hongbin to notice. I wanted her to lie low, and stop her confessing plan before it’s too late. But Chanmi didn’t listen, which left me no choice but to silence her for good. My plan was going smoothly, if only Kim Yoohyeon didn’t notice I was still on the ceiling while cutting the cable. But lucky me, the curtain was strong enough for me to hold on, and use it as a rope to escape from the ceiling before she caught me there. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I didn’t think my action would scare Hongbin that much. I didn’t expect him to be so panic, that he wanted to confess his crime, in exchange for a chance of being protected. I was so scared. I didn’t want to kill Chanmi. I didn’t want to kill Hongbin. I didn’t want to kill anyone, but at this rate… I had no choice. I also didn’t expect the police to find out about Lee Siyeon, and tried to protect him that much. But I’ve come up with a plan. If I could just make use of the play… If I could just set Kim Minji up, trick her to kill Hongbin for me, then I don’t have to worry about being caught. So I prepared a real knife, cover it with potassium cyanide to make sure Hongbin would die even if Kim Minji couldn’t do the job properly. And the plan worked so well…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>If only no one found out about my mistake. The jewel ornament on the real knife hilt. How far are they away from getting to me? How long do I have to live in this worrying state? How long do I have to bear this kind of guilt? </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Until death, maybe?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>I see no way end, except death. I still have some potassium cyanide left on me. And actually, that’s a good way, right? To pay for my sin of making some of your lives suffer from a living hell. To pay for my sin of forcing Lee Siyeon to commit suicide. To pay for my sin of killing my only two friends in this world. To free myself from all the pressure of having to be success. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Death doesn’t sound too bad now.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>To all of the comrades I have bullied… I am so, so sorry…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Your sinner,</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Jeon Jiwoo.’</em>
</p><p> </p><p>So touching, they sneered. If only that bitch could really regret this much… But that was all people needed to know, wasn’t that? Even if it was just a Facebook post… Even if it was fake as hell…</p><p> </p><p>No one needed to know more than that.</p><p> </p><p>The tip of their cigarette slowly moved toward the piece of paper, and touched the flammable surface.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, it caught fire. Smouldering at first, then burst into a blasting flame. Of pain. Of rage. Of hatred.</p><p> </p><p>Burnt everything into black, dirty ashes.</p><p> </p><p>Left nothing but a vast emptiness behind.</p><p> </p><p>But at least…</p><p> </p><p>“Singnie, it’s all over now…”</p><p> </p><p>They couldn’t help but wondering. Would she be happy? Would she smile? Would she laugh?</p><p> </p><p>How come her laugh in the past they’d shared together seemed so fucking far away now?</p><p> </p><p>“You know what? I've never told you this before, but… I really like your smile…”</p><p> </p><p>They quietly confessed, stingingly hot eyes fixed firmly on the girl’s photo carved deeply on the gravestone.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you smile again? For me? Please?”</p><p> </p><p>The sound of the blowing wind answered them instead.</p><p> </p><p>Shakily, they sucked in another bitter puff of smoke.</p><p> </p><p>“Singnie, please…”</p><p> </p><p>Her image blurred, again.</p><p> </p><p>They’d never known tears could be this hot. Enough to burn their bare cheeks. Enough to scorch their very soul.</p><p> </p><p>“Singnie…”</p><p> </p><p>They begged. And prayed. And begged. And prayed.</p><p> </p><p>Just one wish. Only one wish in this fucking world… Why couldn’t it be granted? Why did it have to be her?</p><p> </p><p>Why? Why? Why?</p><p> </p><p>Useless tear kept rolling on their cheeks. It couldn’t do anything. It blurred her image in their eyes. It failed to reach her, lying in a fucking cold coffin buried three feet underneath.</p><p> </p><p>They knew it well.</p><p> </p><p>Then why couldn’t they just stop fucking cry for a minute? Wasn’t three feet far enough now?</p><p> </p><p>Their trembled finger shakily caressed her features on the stone.</p><p> </p><p>“Answer me, Singnie…”</p><p> </p><p>Roaring, the wind mercilessly swallowed all their sobs.</p><p> </p><p>“I did the right thing, right?”</p><p> </p><p>No response. No reaction. Just her image coldly stared back at them. Emotionlessly. Fiercely. Like a total stranger they had never met. Like she was just someone they’d used to know.</p><p> </p><p>The dead couldn’t talk. The dead couldn’t smile. The dead wasn’t God.</p><p> </p><p>And the dead wasn’t kind.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So... Was it fast? Was it surprising that you're gonna discover the identity of our Full Moon Killer in the next chapter? Considering the timing... I feel like it was fast, too, but well... The pace here was set by the characters, and... I can't say 'no, you're too fast' when the characters said 'but I found the fucking truth already', right? They were a little too good (my apology), but I believed I left enough evidences on the final crime scene already... So yeah...</p><p>Who's excited for the revealing chapter? I hope I'm not the only one here LOL~</p><p>And please, feel free to guess who our Full Moon Killer was. I promise I won't abruptly change the Full Moon Killer all of a sudden just because you get them right 🤭</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. “Kim… Bora?”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Minji was released. </p><p>And how was Bora doing in the interrogation room with Yuri?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, so, I'm back! With the revelation chapter! It took me quite a while, because I did agree to join the Singji ficfest 2021, and I had to finish the first chapter of that fic to meet the deadline 😭 But good news is, now I can totally focus on this baby of mine *throw flowers* This one is a little bit short, and it took quite a while for you guys to wait, but I hope the wait is worthy, and... I hope that my eyes didn't deceive me, but... Nearly 250 hits in one chapter? 😳 Good Lord, thank you so so so so much! I know it's not too much for some of you, but yeah, big achievement for me, so... thank you, really!</p><p>Not gonna rant anymore, please, folks, enjoy your ride~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sitting in the empty classroom, Minji buried her head into her hands. The cuffs on her wrists weren’t cold anymore, but somehow, she had hoped that it could stay like that for a little longer. The temperature somehow helped her to stop thinking, which was a privilege she was desperate to have, right.now.</p><p> </p><p>And yet, she couldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing to do about it, after all. The image of Hongbin dying in her hand kept replaying, again and again and again, in her head. There was no other way to stop it. The rough feeling of the hilt. The sensation when the blade thrusted through his chest. The nauseous smell of his blood. The way his eyes aiming at her. Mostly was shock, yes. Plus something else she didn’t really want to specifically interpret.</p><p> </p><p>Was he blaming her? Was he scared? Was he even feeling remorse?</p><p> </p><p>And… What was going on outside? How were the police doing? How far were they from finding out the truth? Why was it so quiet? Where was everybody?</p><p> </p><p>The skin on her lower lip was nearly punctured by her own teeth.</p><p> </p><p>She was tired. Really, really tired. Months of insomnia had finally caught on to her. This was her limit, she could feel it, more clearly than ever. And yet, just like she couldn’t do anything to cure her own insomnia, now, she couldn’t do anything else to stop thinking about things she never wanted to think about, ever again.</p><p> </p><p>At this point, her body, her mind, literally, <em>everything </em>was slowly killing her inside.</p><p> </p><p>Was there even an end to all of this?</p><p> </p><p>Minji had no idea.</p><p> </p><p>She was so lost in her own trance that she didn’t even notice there was someone else coming in to this room.</p><p> </p><p>Not until she felt a familiar warmth landed on her icy hand skin.</p><p> </p><p>Startled, she slightly twitched, but the hand holding hers refused to let go. Even when she looked up. Even when she nearly let herself be lost into the warmth of the girl’s tender eyes. Even when she truly wanted to withdraw her hands from hers. Even when she furrowed her eyebrows, clearly incredulous.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoohyeonie?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger didn’t say anything. It was the first time Minji couldn’t really read what was running in her head, but despite the neutral expression, she still ignored all her efforts, and stubbornly clung onto her hands.</p><p> </p><p>An attempt to warm her up, even just a little.</p><p> </p><p>But knowing that didn’t really help. The silence kept dragging on, and even though it was bearable, Minji couldn’t get used to an unusual quiet and appear-to-be-calm Yoohyeon, especially when she was facing her like this.</p><p> </p><p>“Your networking surely is something.” Forcing out a weak smile, she decided to break the ice. “I thought you’re not allowed to meet me here.”</p><p> </p><p>The younger didn’t answer her immediately, which made Minji’s eyebrows furrow a little. And her eyes caught it. The image of Yoohyeon pressing her lips together, visibly taking in a deep breath and looking at her in the eyes, her lips curled up, painted out an equally forced smile, just like she had a few seconds ago.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not really thanks to networking, though…”</p><p> </p><p>Then, before the elder could react, Yoohyeon fished out a small key, and gently removed the tight cuffs locking on her wrists.</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s eyes widened. She wasn’t sure of why, though. It could be because of the sudden movement from her hoobae. It could be because of her hands hadn’t got used to the unexpected weigh being lifted up. Her wrists were bruised, and only when she realised how sore they had really been.</p><p> </p><p>But that didn’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>“Then thanks to what?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger nonchalantly shrugged while carefully caressing her bruises. “The case is closed, I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but blinking. It felt like there should be something more than just that, but Yoohyeon didn’t say anything else no matter how long she waited. The girl just stared at her; her eyes was occupied by a storm of emotions she couldn’t quite interpret. Minji tried, and tried, and tried, but…</p><p> </p><p>She failed.</p><p> </p><p>There were simply too many, and for some she could notice… They didn’t make a lot of sense. Like, why would the younger be holding some kind of… doubts if the case was really over? But at the same time, a gilded string of hope? Or why would she be looking at her, both desperately and lovingly like that?</p><p> </p><p>Or… Minji’s stomach slightly jumped.</p><p> </p><p>Did she…?</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway…” Averting her eyes, Yoohyeon suddenly raised her voice, a terrible attempt to cheer the mood up. “We’ve solved it, so yeah…You’re free to go now, sunbae.”</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s eyebrows furrowed.</p><p> </p><p>As she expected, the younger’s attempt wasn’t able to last long enough, and… That was good news, indeed, but she couldn’t bring herself to be really happy or even relieved. There was something wrong. Something felt off. She just knew that, but she had no idea where was off, or what was off here.</p><p> </p><p>And for some reasons, the girl standing in front of her obviously wasn’t happy either.</p><p> </p><p>Her hunch and intuition might not be as correct as Handong’s, but she knew it. Like the uneasiness she’d felt when…</p><p> </p><p>Shaking her head, she shooed the idea away. It wasn’t the right time. Besides… What had happened? The case was closed, and she was free to go, okay, that was good, but that still didn’t explain anything. Why was Yoohyeon like this? Why did she look so lost, so doubtful, with uncertainty and anxiety as if she was about to fall into an abyss?</p><p> </p><p>The elder swallowed both the invisible lump occupying her throat and the lament tugging her chest down. It didn’t really help much, though. They were still there, along with lots and lots of questions she needed to ask, but couldn’t really voice them out.</p><p> </p><p>Except for one. Which she blurted out loud before being able to give it a second thought.</p><p> </p><p>“Yoohyeonie, are you alright?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger didn’t reply immediately. Instead, she looked at Minji for a few seconds more; her eyes now fixed on the elder’s, the storm was now liquefied into a thin curtain of mist, then nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…” Her voice was choked. “Everything’s all good…”</p><p> </p><p>Minji’s chest suddenly wrenched much harder than she could have expected.</p><p> </p><p>And she frowned. As if she would buy it.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe this wasn’t something she should do if she really wanted Yoohyeon to stop having that kind of feeling for her, but…</p><p> </p><p>The girl looked so… lost. She looked so… shattered. She was wearing all those kind of expression Minji wouldn’t even think they could appear on her usually smiling face, let alone seeing them with her own eyes.</p><p> </p><p>She could never leave her like this, and she didn’t need to think twice to come to that conclusion.</p><p> </p><p>“Has anybody told you that you’re a terrible liar?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s lips slightly curled up, but the corner of her eyes just remained the same. “I think Gahyeonie has, but I can’t recall…” Then, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Sorry, sunbae. I shouldn’t… I mean, why’s it always you seeing me being pathetic like this? Not just once but twice…”</p><p> </p><p>That reminded Minji of the first time they’d met. When Yoohyeon’s mood had been really bad, but still nowhere near breaking down like now.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s okay.” Raising her hands to cup the girl’s cheeks, she gently assured. “It’s okay… You can always talk to me, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>At least now, her eyes met hers. There were a lot of uncertainty hiding in them, until…</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not really sure about that, to be honest…” Yoohyeon slightly moved, and the warmth on Minji’s hands quickly vanished. “Haven’t you been avoiding me all this time?”</p><p> </p><p>The elder couldn’t utter a word. That was partially but painfully true. Maybe she really shouldn’t do all of this? Maybe she should just turn around and go away, as the case was all over?</p><p> </p><p>But she couldn’t decide it fast enough.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ok, I get it, I’m not complaining or anything.” Waving her hands, the younger forced out another weak smile. “It’s just… I really wanna see you. It’s a long day. For both of us, I guess?”</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, Minji nodded in empathy. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d ever felt so tired like this, but… It was still bearable somehow. She hadn’t broken down. Not totally. Not yet.</p><p> </p><p>And she kept wondering why.</p><p> </p><p>“You need a hug?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon shook her head in refusal, but the elder still noticed. Her hesitation. Her averting eyes. Her lie. Maybe this was why. Maybe Yoohyeon was why. And maybe she shouldn’t stay here, shouldn’t be with her, and shouldn’t be doing any of this, but…</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help herself.</p><p> </p><p>So, without any heads-up, she stretched her arms, and pulled the taller girl into an embrace. Her frame was rigid in the beginning, but she neither pull herself out of this hug, nor pushed her away. And Minji just patiently waited without letting go. She knew this was something the girl needed.</p><p> </p><p>And it was something she needed as well.</p><p> </p><p>Closing her eyes, she tightened her grip. Yoohyeon’s warmth, Yoohyeon’s scent, they were oddly pleasant. And addictive. Especially when the girl slowly loosened up, leaned her head on Minji’s shoulder, and returned the hug. Shaky, yes, but strong, firm, and steady.</p><p> </p><p>As if even the sky had fallen down, they could still handle it, as long as they had each other.</p><p> </p><p>And in fact… Yoohyeon was actually holding onto her as if she was her one and only lifesaver.</p><p> </p><p>The needle of lament stung her chest when Minji slowly exhaled. She thought of another reality, but quickly rejected it. It wouldn’t work that way. It would never work that way.</p><p> </p><p>She would never be able to live with that.</p><p> </p><p>So maybe… Just this time… She could just care for her one last time as she wished, and that would be it.</p><p> </p><p>“Tough day?” She gently stroked her back.</p><p> </p><p>“Tough day.” The younger agreed in a muffled voice. “How are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not bad…” Maybe it really lay in her nature, but the lie escaped her lips way easier than she thought it could do. “You wanna talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon didn’t say anything at first. Maybe she was just tired, but it was impossible for her to read the younger’s thoughts right now. And, even though it was quite frustrated, Minji still patiently waited. She had offered a hand. Whether to take it or not wasn’t her to decide anymore.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just…”</p><p> </p><p>Thank God, she had finally taken it after a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>“We found the killer, and… It’s someone I’ve never expected, that’s all…”</p><p> </p><p>Minji froze. Her intuition was working harder than ever. It was only a few seconds, but… She was suddenly reminded of the very first question coming to her mind when her hands had been free.</p><p> </p><p>Of something felt <em>wrong.</em></p><p> </p><p>“And who was it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon’s answer came after another minute of silence.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s…”</p><p> </p><p>She took in a deep breath.</p><p> </p><p>“Kim Bora.”</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>“So… How are you doing?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora slowly raised her head. Of course, she’d been expecting someone to enter this stupid interrogation room shortly after being left here alone for quite a while, but… Why did it have to be this woman, <em>again</em>? Beautiful in the long, straight black hair and a black suit. She looked gentle and sweet, but as far as the younger knew…</p><p> </p><p>This woman was nothing like that.</p><p> </p><p>Then again, if she thought about it… Yeah, it should be her anyway. She was the prime suspect of this murder case. It should be someone of her ranking to interrogate her after all…</p><p> </p><p>Didn’t mean that she liked it. No, she was nowhere near happiness to see this face again.</p><p> </p><p>And… Putting down the files on the desk, the woman sat down after a sigh.</p><p> </p><p>Bora didn’t like her gaze. It was tender, yes, but too much alike of an X-ray. As if she was completely naked under her it. Couldn’t hide anything. Being so vulnerable, yet so helpless against it. And she knew how quick it could change into a more serious one. Deadly, even.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it’s the Miranda right allowing you to remain silent, and you’re not obliged to say anything, but…” Kwon Yuri sighed again, more like in helplessness this time. “… It’s just pure politeness to reply back to some kind of greeting like this, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora said nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh well…” The woman shrugged. “This is more like you anyway… You wanna drink something?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger wasn’t sure if she should blink or frown. Maybe it should be the mixture of both, but she didn’t really know how to do it. What the hell… What was this woman thinking? Were all interrogations should be like this? Why couldn’t they just start and end this shit, so she could at least rest somewhere else rather than being locked in this stupid stuffy room?</p><p> </p><p>“I just thought you might be cold after sitting for so long at the cemetery.” Kwon Yuri explained with another shrug, eyes aimed at the blanket wrapping around her small frame. “Sometimes, they aren’t enough. If you don’t like coffee, then tea or hot water’s…”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you playing?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora’s voice was cold. Of course, she wasn’t always this rude, especially toward someone older than her, but… She was extremely edgy. Even more edgy than she normally was, because… Was this how thing supposed to be? She, the prime suspect of a murder case, being kindly treated? Where were all the rude questions and accusations? Where were all the cold shoulders they should be throwing in her face?</p><p> </p><p>And what the hell was this woman hiding under her sleeves?</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t understand her. She couldn’t see through her intention. And she could only hope her attitude was terrible enough to cover her fear lying inside.</p><p> </p><p>Which she thought it was a total failure. Facing this reaction, Kwon Yuri just attentively observed her, a string of consideration flashed in her bottomless eyes, before calmly saying.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not that hard to be polite.” She let out a sigh. “And I guess you’ve been through quite a lot…”</p><p> </p><p>Bora couldn’t answer to that.</p><p> </p><p>She should be angry. She knew she should be angry. What did this woman know to spill all those beautiful words to her face? Did she pretend to be all nice and kind just to fish the confession out of her and end this case for good?</p><p> </p><p>Then why? Why couldn’t she see any lies or malice in her face? How should she react when facing such a calm and caring gaze? Shouting out that their owners wasn’t lying? Injecting a lukewarm sensation in her chest? And tingling her nose with something she couldn’t quite understand?</p><p> </p><p>But Bora didn’t want to give in that early. Swallowing down, she took in a deep breath, her voice was much calmer and softer this time.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you want?”</p><p> </p><p>“I told you once, didn’t I?” The officer looked at her in the eyes. “The truth.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, right, everybody wants it.” The younger sneered. “And what are you gonna do after knowing the truth?”</p><p> </p><p>Kwon Yuri’s eyes slightly widened. Maybe she didn’t expect to receive this kind of question, but it didn’t bother her much anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“Depends on what you’re gonna give me, so at the moment? I don’t really know.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora bit her lower lip. Smart answer, if she had to admit. Exactly what she should expect from someone appearing from nowhere, and capable of pissing her of just by saying one fucking sentence.</p><p> </p><p>“What if what I’m gonna say can’t satisfy you?”</p><p> </p><p>“As long as it’s the truth.” The officer comfortably leaned on the back of her chair; hands clasped on her lap. “I think we’ll be just fine.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora raised her eyebrow. “Even if it’s something you don’t wanna hear?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t know until I listen to it, can I?” To the younger’s dismay, her smile was a little bit too bright and honest. “So try me. I love surprises, but no expectations here.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t really know what else to say. She wasn’t even sure how this interrogation would turn into, but…</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t have any other choice but to follow.</p><p> </p><p>“And I don’t wanna play the duress game, or well, we don’t do it here…” Leaning her elbows on the table, the officer tilted her head. “So, yeah. Just so you know, I’m not gonna let you sign into any kind of files and reports should you choose to remain silent, are we clear about this?”</p><p> </p><p>Secretly let out a sigh, the younger nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Here came the point of no return.</p><p> </p><p>“You want something to drink now?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head. She wasn’t in any kind of mood to eat or drink anything.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so, let’s start.”</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>Minji was frozen to her spot. Yoohyeon’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough.</p><p> </p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p>“Kim… Bora?”</p><p> </p><p>She felt a nod on her shoulder. Quick, firm, and without any hesitation.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. Kim Bora. She needed help, but in short? She is the conspirator behind all of these three murders here.”</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>“A simple question first. Did you send out those three threats?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora raised her head. After such a long time spent on pulling and pushing, this woman had become much more straightforward than she could have expected.</p><p> </p><p>Which was good.</p><p> </p><p>“No.”</p><p> </p><p>The officer’s elegant eyebrow arched, and she realised that she should add some more information onto it.</p><p> </p><p>“Jeon Jiwoo did.”</p><p> </p><p>“So… Is Jeon Jiwoo your compliance?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger frowned. Wasn’t that an obvious question? Of all the things she should, why did she choose to ask this?</p><p> </p><p>But Bora still nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.”</p><p> </p><p>She was confused, yes, but it wasn’t hard to answer, after all.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know each other before?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then how do you know each other?”</p><p> </p><p>“Or more like, how do I persuade her to help me with all of these murders?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that, too.” Bora didn’t miss that string of interest flashed through the woman’s eyes. “If you please.”</p><p> </p><p>And she didn’t hesitate to bring out a proper answer.</p><p> </p><p>“I stalked her long enough to know she’s scared of her secret being revealed most. Her friends, however, didn’t agree, and the rest’s easy.” Leaning on the back of her chair, she said in a casual tone, eyes never left the woman sitting opposite. “A story of revenge for a friend who was also bullied at Kim Chanmi’s and Lee Hongbin’s secondary school is quite convincing, don’t you think? We might have different motives, but the targets remain the same, after all…”</p><p> </p><p>Kwon Yuri didn’t comment on it much. In fact, she just humped in response, which made Bora frowned a little. The lack of interest in her seemed… weird, but she couldn’t point out exactly where the real weirdness was coming from.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you kill Kim Chanmi then?”</p><p> </p><p>That was an abrupt question. It caught the younger by surprise, if she had to admit.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re hesitating more than ten seconds.” The officer casually informed; eyes sharpened all of a sudden. “It shouldn’t be that hard to answer me, should it?”</p><p> </p><p>She licked her dry lips, then let out a small smile. Yeah, it shouldn’t be that hard. It was just yes or no.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at the woman sitting opposite. She was still wearing that poker face, which made her kind of uneasy somehow. It was hard to tell how much this woman had known, but…</p><p> </p><p>The familiar, but far away smile of <em>her </em>flashed in her mind. It felt like her ears could hear that familiar laugh.</p><p> </p><p>And…</p><p> </p><p>Deeply inhaling, she nodded. Firm. Certain. Without hesitation.</p><p> </p><p>“I did.”</p><p> </p><p>Kwon Yuri’s gaze flickered. But instead of objection or denial, she asked another question in return.</p><p> </p><p>“And how did you kill her?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora slightly sniggered. “Cutting that cable isn’t hard.”</p><p> </p><p>“Neither does giving me more details on how you did it.” The woman leaned back, before writing something onto her clipboard. “Like where you cut the cable, how you escaped, et cetera, et cetera. Just tell me everything.”</p><p> </p><p>Squinting her eyes, the younger felt the flame of anger started to be ignited. “Are you testing me? Aren’t you supposed to know all of that already?”</p><p> </p><p>“Does it sound like I’m testing you?” Letting out a laugh, Kwon Yuri used the end of the pen in hand to scratch her forehead. “Oh, but when I re-think about it…” Her laugh died down in a matter of seconds. “It does.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora wasn’t sure how to react. The casualness in her tone, her gesture, her posture, in everything here made her felt… wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, erm, I apologise, but I need to finish this by asking you unprovocative and unsuggestive questions, otherwise, it’ll sound more like a duress rather than, you know, a report.” Now came a shrug. “… So yeah… Even though I knew what happened, my higher-ups don’t, do they? All they can do now is reading this, which is why I need to do it even though I hate writing so much, and really, God bless them if they can comprehend my messy hand writing, but my point is…”</p><p> </p><p>She briefly stopped, and looked at her with a much more serious gaze this time.</p><p> </p><p>“We all have to do what we don’t wanna do sometimes.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora’s jaws still tightened. Just like when she gave out a wrong answer in any school test, this didn’t feel right. Not even one bit.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it’s a nuisance, but I don’t think you have many choices left anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>Her cuffed hands clenched. This woman was right. She wasn’t the one getting to choose this time. Either following that stupid Miranda right to shut up, or re-telling everything she’d known until now. So returning her calculative gape, she calmly narrated.</p><p> </p><p>“I went up there…”</p><p> </p><p>“Erm…” Kwon Yuri quickly apologised when meeting her stare. “Sorry for interrupting, but where’s ‘there’ exactly?”</p><p> </p><p>“The fucking ceiling, if you wanna quote.” She snapped, but all the officer did was writing something on her stupid clipboard with a nod. “Happy now?”</p><p> </p><p>“You bet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me, you don’t really wanna sleep with someone ten years older than you, and I have a girlfriend already.” The officer drily replied. “So thank you for your sudden interest, but no.” The pen in her hand stopped moving. “Do you mind if I’m not putting that here? It’s a little bit too informal, after all…”</p><p> </p><p>Bora rolled her eyes. She wanted to swear so much, but… It would just piss<em> her</em> off, not this woman, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you mind if I continue? I wanna finish this fu… stupid interrogation soon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course.” Her bright smile was fucking annoying, she wasn’t gonna lie about it. “I apologise. Please do continue.”</p><p> </p><p>“I went up to the ceiling, cut the cable, and used the curtain to get down to the ground before that Kim Yoohyeon girl got up there.”</p><p> </p><p>Kwon Yuri nodded her head, the pen in her hand flew across the clipboard, again.</p><p> </p><p>“When did you cut the cable by the way?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora frowned; fingers slightly twitched. “What do you mean by when?”</p><p> </p><p>“Kim Chanmi wasn’t always under the spotlight, was she?” Poking the end of the pen to her temple, the officer casually explained. “There must be some kind of timing, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>The younger held her breath. The piercing gaze of the woman was squeezing all the air out of her lungs.</p><p> </p><p>“At the peak of her performance, you mean?” She unconsciously swallowed. “Jeon Jiwoo told me beforehand. About the timing, everything…”</p><p> </p><p>“Is that everything she told you about?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora clenched her fists. Was that really everything?</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” She finally nodded.</p><p> </p><p>And Kwon Yuri didn’t comment anything else. “Okay.” She shrugged, and it felt like a déjà vu. The fucking same uneasy feeling she’d had when the woman’d just simply accepted her lie back when they’d met in Daegu for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>“So… Lee Hongbin.” She raised her head from the clipboard. “Did you kill him?”</p><p> </p><p>These kinds of obvious questions pissed her off, but she couldn’t do anything about it.</p><p> </p><p>“Kim Minji killed him, didn’t she?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, sorry for my terrible phrase.” The officer flashed out another apologetic smile. “Did you do something to frame Kim Minji to kill Lee Hongbin for you?”</p><p> </p><p>A deep inhale. “Swapping the props and the real knife would do.”</p><p> </p><p>“So did you swapped the knife for Kim Minji to kill Lee Hongbin?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” The younger immediately shook her head. “Jeon Jiwoo did. She knew how to get around. It’s easier for her to do that, I’m just a decoy to distract your attention.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you’ve done it beautifully.” The officer wryly commented. “Did you or Jeon Jiwoo know that you guys made a mistake?”</p><p> </p><p>“You mean the jewel ornament on the hilt?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora thought about it for a second. “No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, ’kay.” Another annoying shrug came to her face. “Did you kill Jeon Jiwoo then?”</p><p> </p><p>The answer came out much faster this time. “I did.”</p><p> </p><p>“And how did you kill her?”</p><p> </p><p>“I swapped the capsule bottle, and put in there a poisoned one.”</p><p> </p><p>Kwon Yuri raised her head to look at her in the eye for a second, before turning back to her clipboard.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything else you wanna say about Jeon Jiwoo’s death?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora blinked, but then, she remembered what this woman always asked. She wanted details. She wanted more than just simple confessions. Which she didn’t really understand why. Wasn’t she admitting her crime enough? Why the hell did she have to complicate things more?</p><p> </p><p>But if that was what she wanted… The younger couldn’t really find any reasons to deny her request.</p><p> </p><p>“I followed her to the studio before you guys locked all the doors of the hall.” She easily retold the event. “And I tricked her to drink the capsule. Before she died, I stole her phone, used her finger to unlock it, wrote the confession letter, and uploaded it on the Internet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Seems valid.” was all Kwon Yuri said, the only sound in this quiet interrogation room was the sound coming from her pen running across a piece of paper.</p><p> </p><p>Written with all of Bora’s confession on it. In details. No way to deny any of it. No way for her to come back, at all.</p><p> </p><p>And the end of her future, along with that piece of paper, was just being tossed aside as if it didn’t mean any shit.</p><p> </p><p>Which was painfully true in some ways.</p><p> </p><p>“So… How are you feeling now?”</p><p> </p><p>Bora didn’t answer immediately. The officer’s question was unexpected. She had thought she would ask her something about why she’d killed those bastards, even though she never wanted to answer those why questions. She had thought she would just lecture her about the important of life or some similar shit. Or at least, asked her anything about Siyeon, but…</p><p> </p><p>Her own feeling, right now, really?</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but blinking in confusion. The gaze landed on her was soft, and care, and all, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Is this interrogation over?”</p><p> </p><p>Kwon Yuri stared at her for a few more seconds, before nodding her head.</p><p> </p><p>The younger slowly leaned back on her chair. This question should make she angry. Or sad. Or anything, but…</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t really know.</p><p> </p><p>What was she feeling right now? It was weird. The pressure she was carrying on her shoulder was gone all of a sudden, but…</p><p> </p><p>As if she had nothing left in her anymore. Like the whole interrogation was a shove, digging everything inside her chest out, and leaving behind nothing but a strange feeling of numbness.</p><p> </p><p>So that was it?</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Everything was over?</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Bora felt so lost. She didn’t really know what else to do. This was supposed to be the end for her, but… She couldn’t <em>feel</em> it. She couldn’t even cry.</p><p> </p><p>And Kwon Yuri’s sigh couldn’t pull her out of her own trance, either.</p><p> </p><p>Then her eyes perceived it. The clipboard slid in front of her.</p><p> </p><p>It seemed like that woman was saying something about needing her to sign in, but…</p><p> </p><p>Wait…</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Bora couldn’t help but blinking.</p><p> </p><p>In a matter of second, all her numbness and acts were wiped away, in the most brutal way possible. But could someone blame her for dropping all of them? Was it just a fucking joke? Although it would be much better if it was actually a joke, but…</p><p> </p><p>She threw a glare at Kwon Yuri. And they hit her, hard. The seriousness written all over her eyes, her gaze, her face, her everything. Along with this fucking piece of paper. Along with a single line written on it.</p><p> </p><p>All forms of this heavy truck of reality.</p><p> </p><p>What the hell was this? What was all of this about? Why… What the fuck was this woman playing now?</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I’m pretty sure you’ve read it correctly, and no, it’s not a joke.” Nodding, the woman reconfirmed what she couldn’t bring herself to believe in. “Now sit down and sign, if you please.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t sit down. She didn’t even know when she’d stood up, but that didn’t matter. None of it mattered anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“And use this pen, not that.” Flinging her head at the pen she was holding since the beginning of the interrogation, Kwon Yuri fished out another pen in her blazer pocket. “That one’s run out already.”</p><p> </p><p>Bora didn’t say anything. The only thing she could see was how her hands were shaking so bad. So did the piece of paper. So did the only line written on it, but she’d known its content even when she’d just read it for once.</p><p> </p><p>The line that read…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>‘I, Kim Bora, signing underneath to declare that by admitting myself to be the conspirator of the death of Kim Chanmi, Lee Hongbin, and Jeon Jiwoo, I was arrogant enough to think I could have successfully fooled a near-veteran police officer named Kwon Yuri.’</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck is this?” She finally could utter something out; her voice was also trembling hard. “What are you playing?”</p><p> </p><p>“A lesson for you to do not tell lies.” Kwon Yuri calmly gaped at her deathly look. “And please sit down, Bora-ssi. Don’t care about that camera.” She pointed at the device the younger was looking at. “It’s been off even before I came in here. And don’t worry. I’ll spare you from the task of lying to me again by not asking you who the real culprit is. It’s useless anyway, because…”</p><p> </p><p>Bora wasn’t sure why she was shaking <em>this </em>hard. She was shocked, but…</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure you haven’t known it, either…”</p><p> </p><p>How much did this woman know already?</p><p> </p><p>“Have you?”</p><p> </p><p>Her stomach uncontrollably twitched.</p><p> </p><p>The panic rising in her guts was too quick for her to suppress down as she found out the answer for her own question.</p><p> </p><p>This woman, Kwon Yuri, the head of the homicide office in the Seoul Police Department, who was looking at her with the solemnest stare ever, knew<em> everything.</em></p><p> </p><p>“The true identity of this Full Moon Killer, I mean?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, I lied. It hasn't solved the case, not yet, BUT... In a few more minutes, please click on. There's chapter 16 awaits for you, and yes, the real Full Moon Killer will be revealed for sure (I swear I'm not lying this time) LOL. </p><p>Just asking, but... Did anybody besides @holdmymilktea and @DrowningWords fall for the trap of thinking Bora was the killer? </p><p>And for those two... Well, I hope this chapter still has some surprising spices to your journey 😉</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. “Or should I call you… The Full Moon Killer?”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The title said everything here...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So... *drum roll* Here is the real revelation. And well, my apology, I couldn't really be happy with this revelation. It's just... I can't really explain it. I mean, I know why, but... Just can't say it guys. Anyway, this chapter is the shortest one. It didn't take much of my time, because it's been planned right before I wrote the beginning of this fic, but still...</p><p>Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this one!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Minji couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t bring herself to believe in what she’d just heard. Kim Bora? The killer? What the fuck?</p><p> </p><p>She was so shocked that she had to pull herself out of the hug with Yoohyeon. She had to re-verify. She had to have her to reconfirm it, face to face. It couldn’t… It <em>shouldn’t.</em> How on Earth could it be?</p><p> </p><p>But even if she had faced her… The look on Yoohyeon’s face… It was so certain. It was so steady. It confused Minji so much, but all she could uttered was just a weak “How…?”</p><p> </p><p>And the younger just asked her with an emotionless expression. “How what, sunbae?”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t understand it. She didn’t realise the string of sadness slowly invaded Yoohyeon’s beautiful face like an injected dose of poison. She didn’t even notice her hand was grabbing her arms much stronger than necessary. But could someone blame her? This must be a joke, and it wasn’t even funny.</p><p> </p><p>“How can Kim Bora be the killer?”</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was cold. The very last attempt to hide her own franticness.</p><p> </p><p>“She killed Kim Chanmi. And Jeon Jiwoo. And…”</p><p> </p><p>“No…” Minji shook her head, the grip on Yoohyeon’s arm grew tighter. “Yoohyeonie, it’s not her…”</p><p> </p><p>“Sunbae, it hurts, calm down…”</p><p> </p><p>What the heck was she talking about? Minji was calm. She could see the truth. How could someone seeing through the truth be uncalm?</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not her…”</p><p> </p><p>“Sunbae, calm down, you don’t understand it…”</p><p> </p><p>“No, <em>you </em>are the one who don’t understand!”</p><p> </p><p>She yelled. Only silence answered her this time, but the look on Yoohyeon’s face was so certain, which only pissed her off even more than it should be.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not her! I told you it’s not! Why don’t you believe me? It can’t be her! It CAN'T be!”</p><p> </p><p>And she got anger carried her away, so far that…</p><p> </p><p>“You should be asking me who Kim Bora is first, don’t you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Only until now she noticed.</p><p> </p><p>Yoohyeon's abnormally calm question was like a hammer hitting straight in her chest. It struck her like lightning. It stunned her right at her spot. And she couldn't do anything but blinking in realisation.</p><p> </p><p>Her grip finally froze, before loosening up. To the point that the younger's hand and warmth just slowly slipped out of her reach. Further away, and would never be back.</p><p> </p><p>Ever.</p><p> </p><p>And she realised it now. Yoohyeon’s pain and disappointment tearing up in her eyes. Soaking her face, and shivering her slender frame.</p><p> </p><p>“But if you wanna skip that question… Then why can’t it be Kim Bora, sunbae?”</p><p> </p><p>Minji couldn’t move a muscle. She knew the truth, then yet, she couldn’t bring herself to answer Yoohyeon’s simple question.</p><p> </p><p>Why couldn’t it be Kim Bora?</p><p> </p><p>Why?</p><p> </p><p>Because…</p><p> </p><p>“Let me answer it for you then…”</p><p> </p><p>The younger’s voice was trembling, so hard that she had to stop for a minute to recollect herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Because… The one the killer wants to frame isn’t Kim Bora, is it?”</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t cold. It wasn’t harsh. But the mere <em>look </em>on her face just mercilessly stabbed through her heart. With hopelessness. With disappointment.</p><p> </p><p>And with pain, in the purest form of it, filled in the tears brimming in her breath-takingly beautiful pair of eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“It should be Jeon Jiwoo to take all the blame. Jeon Jiwoo was supposed to be the scapegoat.”</p><p> </p><p>The temperature must have fallen. Or else…</p><p> </p><p>“Am I right, Minji-sunbaenim?”</p><p> </p><p>Why did Minji just shake like a leave all of a sudden like this?</p><p> </p><p>“Or should I call you… The Full Moon Killer?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So yeah, congratulations to anyone guessing correctly who the Full Moon Killer was! Next chapter would be the explanation of the how, and I hope in the next or next one could be the motives of Minji. We're reaching the true ending of this fic, and I hope no one will leave me even after the explanation's over! I mean, well, I personally think this fic is much more than just solving the big mystery. Everyone was acting and reacting for their own reasons, and... yeah. The end of mystery doesn't mean the end for them, and for that reason... I do hope you will stay with me till the very end 🤗 Love ya~</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is my Twitter https://twitter.com/deukaenology</p><p>And cc https://curiouscat.qa/Deukaenology </p><p>So long~</p></blockquote></div></div>
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